Love, Life, & Regret
by tervaco
Summary: What happens when seven devils escape from their prisons and make it to the human world? Plus, the origin of Juniper Lee is revealed! And is there romance in the air for Jody and a certain young magic user? COMPLETE Please R
1. Midnight Meeting

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody except for Chris Fields, who is copyrighted to Tervaco and Burn Up Studios.

This is my first Juniper Lee fic and as far as I know only the second to be published. Hope you enjoy.

The Life & Times of Juniper Lee

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 1: Midnight Meeting

The thump on her floor caused her to shoot up in bed. She tried to see what had caused the noise, but her eyes wouldn't adjust. She quickly turned on the light and prepared to lash out, but stopped when she saw him. He was trying to stand when he realized where he was.

"Chris?" Juniper Lee asked throwing the covers off.

He was dressed in khaki pants and a black shirt. His breathing was heavy and ragged as he backed away.

"June!" he stammered.

She stepped toward him dressed only in a white shirt and her panties, which made him blush. Chris tried to back away, but slipped and fell backwards slamming into the wall, cringing as he slid down to the floor. There was nowhere for him to go as Juniper kneeled down in front of him. He cringed again waiting for the punch that never came. Juniper instead wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

Chris' eyes shot open in surprise, "June?"

She looked up at him to see a big bruise under his left eye and a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. The concern in her eyes turned to confusion. Now what had he gotten himself into?

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him and appeared to look into his soul. He didn't know what to do. He should leave was the thought running through his mind, but he knew couldn't get out of this without an explanation. He couldn't…

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me exaclty what happened," she explained pulling away from him.

"Yeah I was afraid you were gonna say something like that," Chris sighed, "But then again, I'd do the same if I was in your place."

She smiled at that. He had always been there for her, ever since they had first met. They had been friends for years and had shared a lot of memories.

Juniper pulled his face level with hers and looking into his green eyes asked, "Why don't we get you cleaned up?"

She stood and walked over to the shelves containing her many treasures of the magical world and pulled off a box marked first aid. She wanted to know how he had gotten this way, but decided he would tell her when he was ready. Until then she would do her best to help him.

"Take your shirt off," she ordered as she pulled out an ace bandage, gauze, and two rolls of medical tape.

He hesitated when she said that. Juniper stopped and looked at him with a mean look in her eyes.

"Come on, take your shirt off, don't make me do it," she said grimly.

Slowly Chris slipped one arm out and then the other, finally pulling it up and off. His chest was smooth and toned. Not muscular, but stringy. He had several scars on his chest and back, some of which Juniper knew the story of and others which looked newer. The right side of his chest was a dark purple meaning a broken rib or two. Juniper shook her head. She'd be getting that explanation whether he wanted to tell her or not.

Chris lifted his arm and gritted his teeth. Juniper touched the mark lightly and watched with surprise as Chris' eyes went wide and watered.

"Hurts, huh?" she asked sarcastically, "Better get the clasps."

Carefully and tightly she wrapped the bandage around his chest clasping it as tight as he could take it. Then she took two pieces of gauze and taped them over the bruise on his face. After wrapping his head, she kissed him on the forehead and smiled.

"All better?" she asked sweetly.

Chris looked at her with a somewhat scared look in his eye and nodded. He stood up woozily and leaned back against the wall trying to get his balance. The adrenaline rush had finally worn off and he was now feeling the effects of his injuries. Juniper watched him filled with concern. He took careful yet awkward steps toward her before falling to his knees. She suppressed a laugh as he looked up at her.

He looked up at her and she immediately stopped. She didn't mean to laugh, but it was sort of funny watching a guy who was always steady on his feet, always calm and cool, lose his balance. He pulled his knees up and crossed them then reached into the first aid box pulling out another bandage. Juniper watched as he wrapped his wrist. She hadn't seen how swollen it was until he pointed it out. She sat watching him solemnly, hoping he would tell her something, but not expecting any explanation.

"I found her," he said tying the bandage with his hand and teeth.

Juniper gave a bewildered look and replied, "Her?"

"Yeah, the woman who…," he paused, "…the woman who killed my parents."

Juniper's eyes went wide. He had actually found her, the one who had changed his life. The one who took his parents away from him all those years ago.

"I finally found her only to have her slip through my fingers," he said slamming his fist into his open palm cringing in pain.

She had never seen him like this. He acted like a man obsessed.

"Why didn't you come to me?" she asked, "You know I'd help you with anything."

Chris bowed his head, "I couldn't. This is my fight and…," he looked Juniper in the eye, "…I can't promise that I won't kill her."

Juniper stared back into his eyes, stunned. She knew he would do anything to avenge his parents' death, but murder?

"You can't mean that," she decidedly told him.

"I…I don't want to…I, I mean…" he sighed, "you know, better than anyone, that I would never kill, but…this isn't something I can distance myself from personally. She killed my parents in cold blood, for no reason other than the fact that she could."

Chris was obviously disturbed by his cold bloodedness, but Juniper could tell from the look in his eyes that he would kill this woman without so much as a second thought. He wouldn't be able to control himself. Not this time, and if he crossed that line what would keep him from crossing it again?

"It's not like I could beat her though," he stated pulling his head up. "She's stronger, faster, smarter, she's a better fighter than me. It would be suicide to face her alone again. I wouldn't stand a chance."

He looked to his friend for some sign that it would be okay, but what he saw was fear and concern. Juniper had been his friend for almost ten years, but she wouldn't stand by and do nothing while he killed someone. It wasn't in her heart and he knew that.

"Chris, I won't let you cross that line," she told him standing up, "I will do everything in my power to help you beat this person, but I won't let her turn you into a killer."

He smiled and bowed his head once more. Maybe he wouldn't have to kill her, maybe he…

The window well exploded sending shards of glass and wood flying towards the teens. Amid the chaos, there was someone laughing sadistically.

"So, this is where you ran to, little boy. A skirt to hide behind? To afraid to face me on your own?" a female voice rang out.

Juniper looked up to see Chris lying over her trying to shield her from the debris. The voice sent shivers through her body.

"Let's end this with bang!" the voice yelled.

Chris stood and turned to face her. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and he would never forgive her for forcing Juniper into this. He yelled as he ran and jumped at her, ready to fight to the death. Juniper ran to grab a pair of jeans and then leapt through the opening. She had to help him. He couldn't fight her alone.

As the leaped over the fence in her backyard something came crashing down in front of her. It was Chris. His body steamed as he tried to stand only to collapse unconscious.

"Well well well, if it isn't the Te Xuan Ze," the female said floating just behind Juniper. "Your boyfriend wasn't much of a challenge, let's hope you are!" she yelled throwing a blast of green energy at her.

Juniper braced herself as the blast came crashing down.

To be continued…

Well, what does anybody think? Reviews of any kind are welcome and thank you for reading.


	2. When They Met

Here's the second chapter, finally. This looks into the history of the characters, which is how the rest of the story will be. I'll give you a chapter in the present and then the next is set sometime when they were all kids. I hope you like it.

And before I forget: DISCLAIMER: I do not own Juniper Lee or any of the characters held within. I only own Ms. Carrie Mullins and Chris Bonner and they are copyrighted to Tervaco and Burn Up Studios. I did not make any money off of this and all credit for the creation of said characters goes to Judd Winick. Thank you.

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 2: When They Met…

The car door closed behind her as her parents drove off. Her first day of school and she had to face it all alone. Four year old Juniper Lee made her way past the other kids saying their goodbyes to their parents to see a blonde haired girl with pigtails talking to a girl wearing all grey and black. The other girl's hair was a mix of purples and pinks and she seemed more annoyed than anything. Juniper approached and timidly said hi. The girls turned to look at her and smirked. Juniper was two feet tall with shoulder length raven black hair and a single pink strand. She wore a blue skirt with a pink top and had a brown bracelet on her left arm.

"Hi, my name's Juniper, what's yours?" she asked in a squeaky voice.

The blonde girl grabbed her and pulled her into a hug while laughing hysterically, "I'm Jody! I'm so happy to meet you, wanna be friends?"

The other girl huffed and slammed herself down on the steps leading up to the door. She said her name was Ophelia and then huffed again informing Juniper and Jody they could hang out with her as long as they didn't cramp her style. She and Juniper shook hands, but she drew the line at hugs and pushed Jody away.

Behind them there was a loud crash as a bespectacled boy reached out from underneath a pile of trash cans. His beanie had pulled back to reveal his short brown hair and he stood up, trying to dust himself off.

"Ladies!" he yelled raising his hands into the air as if he hadn't already drawn enough attention to himself.

He pulled his bike out from under the cans and walked it over to the bike rack while leaving a trail of trash. After he locked it he walked over to Juniper and the others and bowed informing them that his name was Roger. Unfortunately they only laughed at him and walked into the school.

Inside they walked up to a desk and were given their room assignments. By some strange stroke of luck, the three of them all had the same teacher and so did that bumbling kid, Roger. The three girls followed by the boy made their way down B-Hall to room 126 to a big red door with the name Ms. Mullins taped to the outside. Ophelia cringed when she saw the smiley face over the I.

"Oh great, a cutesy tutesy teacher. Just what I need," she said opening the door.

Just behind the door stood another boy, but there was something different about him. His brown hair was cut extremely short, like a military cut, and he stood with an air of anger around him. He wore a red button down collar shirt and khaki shorts and as Ophelia stepped in he walked to the back of the room and sat down at the farthest desk. The girls could only stare as he crossed his arms and laid his head down on his desk.

"Who is that?" Jody asked.

The other kids in the room shook their heads in puzzlement. Apparently he had just walked in and stood there waiting for a reason to sit down. Jody looked at him and felt a sudden sadness in her heart. Who was he and why did he look so unhappy? Juniper nudged her in the sides and gave her a quick smile.

"Why don't you go talk to him?" she explained trying to push Jody forward.

The blonde girl blushed and then quickly shook her head, "He'd rather be left alone, I think."

Fifteen minutes went by and the first bell rang informing the students to take their seats. In total there were seventeen boys and girls with a variety of different styles. Some had blonde hair, others had brown, but only Ophelia had purple hair. Some of the girls would snicker when they looked at her, but would quickly look away when she gave them the evil eye.

"Hello class!" a short blonde haired woman said walking into class.

She was beautiful, for a teacher, and her blue eyes caught the attention of all the boys in the class. The fact that she was a woman and had an air of coolness around her gained the respect of the girls. She smiled when she saw she had everyone's attention.

"My name is Ms. Carrie Mullins and I will be your teacher this year. I like sunny days, picnics, puppies, and spending time with my students. It's my goal to have fun with all of you while teaching you something," she paused and smiled, "and now, I'd like you all to share a little something about yourselves. Each of you will stand up and tell all of us your name, what you like to do, what you don't like to do, and what you want to be when you grow up."

A long haired boy in the front of the class started and everyone laughed when he got to his dislikes. The same was true for most until it was Ophelia's turn.

"My name is Ophelia and I hate everything that's bright and cheery. My likes are nobodies business and when I grow up I wanna rock!" she yelled air guitaring one of her favorite rifts.

Ms. Mullins thanked her and then asked Jody to introduce herself.

"Well, my name's Jody and I like everything and everyone, there's really nothing I don't like, and I when I grow up I want to be someone people like," she explained smiling.

Next up was Juniper, "My name's Juniper Lee, but you can call me June. I like hanging with my friends, listening to music, and playing my guitar. My dislikes…well I don't like it when my big brother picks on me or when I have to change my little brother's diapers," everyone laughed at that, "when I grow up, well I don't know what I want to be."

Ms. Mullins was surprised. Juniper was the first one to say that.

"Well, June, that's okay, you have a long time to decide what you want to do," she said before motioning to the boy in the farthest desk.

The boy stood up and bowed his head, hiding his eyes, "My name is Chris, I don't like much and there's too much I don't like. What I want to be if I grow up isn't anyone's concern," and with that he sat down leaving the other students stunned and Ms. Mullins more than a little concerned.

Jody watched him for a little while, happy to know what to call him, but scared because he was unlike anyone she had ever met and they were only four years old! How could he have such a dark disposition? For one thing, Ophelia would probably get along with him.

The day continued without much event, except for everyone laughing at the jokes and tricks of Ms. Mullins. She would do magic tricks between each of their subjects just to lighten the mood and show everyone that she was going to hold to her oath of having fun while teaching.

As the class finished its final math problem another bell rang informing them it was time for lunch. They all cheered as Ms. Mullins led them outside and had them form a circle under the big oak tree in the recess field. They each had different lunchboxes depicting different TV shows, cars, and, fantastic scenes. Juniper had a Batman lunchbox which brought some inquiry, but she didn't mind. Jody's was a Barbie and Ophelia's was a black metal box. At the far end of the circle leaning up against the tree sat Chris. He had no lunch, but he didn't seem to mind. That is until Ms. Mullins asked him to follow her. The class ooed as she led Chris behind the tree and kneeled down in front of him.

Placing a soft hand on his shoulder she asked, "Chris, is everything okay? Is there something you want to tell me?"

The young boy looked away and lowered his eyes, "There's nothing wrong, I just don't care. I want to be left alone."

Ms. Mullins softly replied, "You don't really want that."

Chris' head shot up and his eyes went wide. Turning to look her in the eye, she pulled him into a hug. Chris was surprised, but he returned it and then buried his face in her shoulder and cried. The teacher smiled and whispered into his ear that everything would be ok. He didn't have to be alone and he didn't have to be afraid of what anybody thought.

Several minutes passed and then finally the teacher and young boy stepped out from behind the tree hand in hand.

"Everyone, I think Chris would like to reintroduce himself, right?" Ms. Mullins asked looking down at the nodding child.

"Hi everyone, my name is Chris and I'm… sorry for what I said earlier," he managed a smile, "I like to read and play with my toys and big dog, but I don't like it when my mom makes me eat green beans and when I grow up I'm gonna protect the world!" he finished, laughing.

The other students were once again stunned. Some of them laughed, others went back to eating their lunch, and Chris bowed his head again. He could feel those dark feelings welling up inside of him again, but that was when it happened.

"Do you wanna sit with us?" Jody asked standing face to face with him.

Chris' eye lit up as he walked with Jody over to Juniper and Ophelia. They all smiled as they introduced themselves and started talking. The young boy smiled the rest of the way through lunch. He had made some real friends and they liked him, even if Ophelia was a little weird.

They were walking back to the classroom when Jody turned to Juniper and nudged her. The little Chinese girl then spoke up and asked Chris the most important question to any four year old…

"D'you wanna be friends with us?"

The little boy beamed and nodded his head happily. The four laughed as they sat back down. Everything had worked out. It was only Juniper's first day and she already had three friends. She couldn't wait to tell her parents. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, she knew it.

To Be Continued…

Okay, so the second chapter has been written. You can calm down for now. I will write the next chapter soon, but it may take a while. For the past two weeks I've seen testing and in college, testing is much harder than in high school so don't give me no lip. Anyway, I hope you like it and want more, cause that's what you're gonna get.


	3. The Hard Realization

Here's is the third chapter. Now you can lay off me for at least a little while, so that way I can come up with some more. Until then enjoy.

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 3: The Hard Realization

Juniper awoke screaming. Her bed was soaked with sweat as she frantically spun around in an attempt to identify her surroundings. She was in her room, in her bed. It had all been a dream. Chris, their talk, the attack…none of it had really happened.

Her door swung open to reveal her parents and Ray Ray, "Juniper, is everything okay!"

The fifteen year old slowly informed them that she was fine before swinging her legs out and over the floor. She was soaked with sweat. The dream, or nightmare was more like it, had felt so real. An arm was placed around her as her mother sat down on the bed next to her. It was nice to have that contact, but Juniper was still shaken. Why had it felt so real? Was it really a dream?

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She pulled up to the bike racks and locked her bike down. The dream was still running through her head as she walked through the back doors of the school and down the hall to her locker. She had to be sure Chris was okay, she wouldn't rest until…

"Heads up!" Roger yelled before dropping to the ground followed by a crumbling tower of books.

Juniper looked down at him with venom in her eyes. Sometimes he could be so annoying! Even more so than Ray Ray, and that was saying something. Ophelia stood behind him snickering at the klutz as he tried to dig himself out from under the pile of history books.

"Helping Ms. Mullins again, Rog?" Juniper asked offering him a hand.

"Yeah, you know me, always trying to help," the bespectacled boy answered taking her hand and pulling himself up.

He wore his usual blue beanie, jeans, yellow shirt, and green button down shirt over that. His thick rimmed glasses hid his hazel eyes. He was the class clown, always trying to get everyone's attention through some stupid prank or by making a fool out of himself. Still, he did his best to make friends, but only Juniper and her group would hang out with him.

Ophelia wore black pants and her usual grey Trash Talk shirt. Her pink and purple hair was cut short and the various chains and bracelets jangled on her arm as she approached the two.

"Roger, when are you gonna get over her?" Ophelia asked more than a little annoyed.

Roger had had a crush on Ms. Mullins ever since first grade, and he was ecstatic when she became the math teacher at their high school. He took every class she taught and was always trying to help her out whenever he could. It wasn't that Ophelia cared, but she thought it was pretty stupid to be mulling over a teacher.

Behind them approached Jody, dressed in her cheerleader outfit. The Orchid Bay Ogres had a big game tonight and so to raise support she and the rest of the cheer squad along with the football team wore their uniforms. It was white and green with black lettering. The skirt was short, but Jody didn't seem to mind, she knew no one would be dumb enough to try to take a peak. Not if they wanted to keep their heads anyway.

"Good morning, June, how are you?" she asked very prim and proper.

Juniper yawned and answered, "I'm okay, just tired. Had another nightmare last night."

"Yeah, same here, Mr. Lowe's science tests are killers aren't they?" Ophelia piped up.

They all talked about their scores and how they hadn't slept the night before the test, but in the back of Juniper's mind she continued dreading over her dream. Where was Chris?

Her thoughts were answered when the final member of their group showed up. He wore khaki shorts, a black t-shirt, and red button down shirt over that. His hair was as short as always and his glasses reflected the sun as he walked through the door. Around his neck hung a black cord with a yin-yang pendant dangling from it.

"Hey guys," he said walking up.

Jody smiled as she greeted him. It was more than obvious that she liked him, but Chris was the oblivious type and if it wasn't spelled out for him he would never know. He and Roger shook hands as Ophelia commented on him being late.

"Oh come on, you said quarter after and its 7:16, so I'm a minute late. Big deal," he replied.

Ophelia and Chris were about to go at it again, but Juniper stepped in and asked Chris for a moment alone. Without question, Chris agreed and walked away from the group, leaving Jody worried that Juniper might reveal her secret.

"Alright, June, what's up?" he asked nonchalantly.

Juniper looked around to make sure they were alone and answered, "I had another dream about you last night."

Chris took a deep breath and released it turning away from her, "What happened this time? Was my soul sucked out or did Dennis banish me to hell?"

"Neither," Juniper answered sternly, "You found your parents' killer."

Chris stopped. For months now, Juniper had been informing him of strange dreams involving him and their adventures together, but this was the first time she had encountered a dream like this.

"What did she look like? Was she blonde, wearing all black, and laughing like a raving lunatic?" he half asked half demanded.

She looked at him and nodded. So it was her, he thought, recalling the night of his parents' death. His face darkened and tears welled up in his eyes before he started taking deep breaths and turned away. It had hurt him so much to lose his parents at such an early age.

"Chris?" Juniper asked laying a hand on his shoulder.

He sighed and turned to face her, "I'm okay."

His breathing was heavy and his eyes were red. This was extremely hard on him and no one understood that better than Juniper. They had been through so much since they met. All the pain, all the heart ache, all the misery, but this was the one thing that hurt more than anything else.

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Jody exited the math lab and sighed, leaning back against a nearby wall. She had passed another test, but just barely. A B- was new for her and she knew her parents wouldn't be happy. It was just that she was distracted and she couldn't focus on school right now. Chris was getting more and more distant and she didn't want him to disappear from her life. She wanted to be a part of his life, to be held in his arms, to be his, but he made things so difficult.

He exited the lab and slung his back pack over his shoulder. He had aced the test, the he always did. Chris started down the hall, but stopped and looked up when he heard Jody.

"Hey," he said casually.

The blonde cheerleader couldn't believe it. That very morning he had been angry, distant, and very confrontational, what had changed?

"Hey, yourself," she responded trying to sound cool.

He stepped closer to her and smiled, "How'd you do on the test?"

Jody's eyes looked away from his as she told him of her grade.

"It's not a big deal, you know," he said leaning back against the opposite wall, "so you got a B- on one test, its not like you won't ace the next one. I know you to well to think you won't."

She smiled at that. He believed in her, isn't that what he was saying? Once again it was time for lunch and Chris would most likely disappear the way he always did. He'd usually climb up into a tree and sleep for the forty-five minute period or he'd go up on the roof of the school and listen to music, but today would be different, Jody decided. Today she'd ask him to eat with her, today…

"So, you want to come eat with me?" he asked lowering his head.

What! Did he just ask her that? He looked up and raised an eyebrow in question, hoping for an answer.

Stuttering, Jody got it out, "S-sure, I…I'd love to."

He smiled and said, "Great!" and together the two walked down the hall towards Jody's locker.

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Juniper watched from afar as Jody split her sandwich with Chris. It was good that he was finally eating something for lunch. He always came up with some story about not being hungry, he had been doing that since second grade, but apparently something had changed. She was happier still to see Jody had actually worked up the nerve to ask Chris to spend some time with her. They made a cute couple. Now if she could just get her love life going, she thought looking over to Marcus. He had always been the cool guy that got along with everyone, but he never had a girlfriend, not for lack of trying on the girls' part. There were more fights over who would ask him out than anything else.

"Well if Jody can do it, then so can I," she said walking over to join the boy.

Marcus smiled as she approached him. As usual he was alone, but surrounded by a large group of girls who were all flashing their eyes at him. Juniper was the only girl among them who would actually try to talk to him.

"Hey, June," he said in his soft voice as the wind blew through his hair.

Blushing, Juniper sat down next to him and struck up a conversation, much to the dismay of the other girls around them.

By the end of the lunch period, Juniper had set up a date with Marcus to see a movie on Friday. She couldn't wait and only hoped that nothing came up. Together the two teens walked back into the building and finally parted ways when they arrived at Juniper's science class.

"I'll see you later, June," Marcus said pecking her on the cheek and walking off to his next class.

Juniper practically melted as the realization hit her that he had kissed her.

"YES!" she screamed jumping for joy and throwing her fists up in the air and stamping her feet.

Behind her Ophelia raised an eyebrow and then cleared her throat, much to Juniper's surprise and chagrin.

"Uh, ha ha ha, Ophelia, I didn't see you there," Juniper explained turning bright red with embarrassment.

"Obviously," the punk rock girl replied leading Juniper into the class room. "Alright, spill, what did you guys talk about, when are you going out, you know, all the details."

Juniper smiled as she told Ophelia everything and let it sink in that she would be going on a date with the hottest guy in school.

The door to the class room opened once again to reveal Jody and Chris walking hand in hand. The girls ooed when they saw their friends like that, but Chris' evil eye quickly shut them up.

"Looks, like June's not the only one who's got a date this weekend," Ophelia stated in a matter of fact tone.

Chris' eyes looked away as blood rushed to his cheeks. Jody smiled as she sat down with the girls and started gabbing about her plans. Chris sat down at the table behind them as Roger came piling through the door breathing heavily and white as a sheet.

"Dude!" he yelled grabbing Chris by his shirt collar, "You gotta hide me, now!"

He had just finished as one of the Varsity football players came pounding through the door. His letter coat was green with white sleeves and revealed he was one of the linebackers.

"Where is he!" he demanded storming up to Chris' table.

"I'm sure I don't know who you're talking about, dude," he replied causing the linebacker to fume and scream. "Ever heard of breath mints?" Chris asked standing up.

The football player grabbed Chris by the collar and started yelling at him when Mr. Lowe, the football coach and science teacher walked in. He stood at five feet four inches and was scrawny, but when he talked you listened.

"What is going on in here?" he demanded.

The linebacker dropped Chris and backed away explaining that he was just fooling around, nothing was going on. Then like a flash the guy was gone and Mr. Lowe was asking Chris what the trouble was.

"It was nothing really, sir, just a little misunderstanding," Chris explained straightening his collar.

"Well, the next time you have a misunderstanding with one of those guys, you have my permission to clock him," Mr. Lowe replied walking back to the front of the room.

He was awesome as a teacher and an even better coach. The Orchid Bay Ogres had won every game for the two years Lowe had been coaching. And to ensure that his players didn't get out of control he had a rule stating you had to have a C+ or better GPA and if any of them caused trouble for another student they'd regret it.

He and Chris had a whole rapport between them. Lowe had helped the teen through a rough freshman year and since then they'd been close. It didn't keep Lowe from grading Chris as hard as he could, but that was what any good teacher did.

Climbing out from under the table where he was hiding, Roger thanked Chris for covering him, but he ignored a comment from Ophelia about his missing back bone.

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The day came to a slow end as Mr. Lowe finished his lecture on velocity and its affects on mass and force. When the bell rang many of the students cheered. It was one of the most boring lectures Lowe had to teach, but at least he apologized for it. It was the final class of the day.

Out back, Juniper unlocked her bike and prepared to ride home when she heard someone calling behind her. It was Marcus and he was being chased after by a few rabid girls. Juniper told him to hop on her handle bars and then both of them took off as fast as Juniper could pedal. The mob continued to chase them for a while, but when Juniper cleared the last hill the mob fell apart.

"Thanks, June, I owe you," Marcus said jumping down from the bars.

Juniper smiled and got off to walk her bike, "So, any idea why they were chasing you?"

Marcus laughed as he answered, "Somebody got the idea that if they jumped me, I wouldn't go out with you tomorrow."

"Seriously? They're angry about that?" Juniper asked astounded.

They laughed and talked as they made their way to Juniper's home. Marcus wanted to make sure she got home without any incident, but he found himself invited inside for something to eat. He couldn't say no to that.

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Chris sat in the bleachers, as close to the cheerleaders as he could possibly be, so he could watch Jody as she flipped up into the air. She blushed when he cheered, because it was so out of place for him.

"Way to go, Jody!" he cheered giving her a standing ovation.

The people around him gave him weird looks, Roger, well he joined in because he didn't mind making a fool out of himself. To their right sat Ophelia, who looked like she'd rather be anywhere than there. Despite all this the two bespectacled boys continued cheering as the cheer squad finished their act. As the squad broke up to relax before the next act, Jody hopped into the bleachers where she wrapped her arms around Chris' neck and thanked him for giving her all the support, but her grip got tighter and she told him to calm it down a bit. He smirked and agreed.

Roger, who couldn't get Ophelia to act even half way decent towards him, bowed his head. He may have had a crush on Ms. Mullins, but he really liked Ophelia and he would do anything to go out with her. Unfortunately, as he got closer to her she shook her hand at him and warned him to back off. It looked like another lonely weekend for Roger.

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Juniper and Marcus sat in her basement watching the latest My Chemical Romance music video when her wrist band went off informing her of a threat to the balance.

"Oh man," she said standing up.

Marcus watched her and then asked, "Gotta go?"

Juniper looked at him apologetically and nodded, but when she tried to explain he told her he had to go anyway. He had a lot of work to do. Juniper walked him to the door and then took off down the street.

"Stupid speed demons! They always show up at the worst time!" she declared running as fast as she could.

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Back at the game, Chris' pendant started glowing.

"Crap!" he said turning to Roger. "Dude, you gotta cover me I'll be back as soon as I can!" he yelled running off into the bushes.

Roger and Ophelia watched in amazement as he disappeared from view.

"What was that all about?" she asked turning to look back at Jody talking with her squad.

To Be Continued…


	4. First Assault

Whew, been a long while hasn't it? Well, I'll have time to bore you all later, on with the story.

Love, Life & Regret

Chapter 4: First Assault

Juniper leapt from her bike and entered the abandoned factory, not sure what to expect. Her wristband had told her it was speed demons, but something wasn't right. Usually the mischievous creatures were speeding around kicking up dust and debris, but nothing was moving here. There were no signs of any activity much less speed demons. Juniper cautiously searched the first floor before moving on to the next.

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Chris was nearly there, the factory was in plain view, but as he topped the hill, something landed behind him. He spun just as a fist slammed into his chest causing him to fall to his knees. Looking up he realized his attacker was human.

He stood at six foot with blue hair and a silver earring hanging from his left ear lobe. His eyes were shadowed by his hair and he spoke not a word as he grabbed Chris by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"Who…are…you?" Chris asked struggling to break his opponent's rock hard grip.

The blue haired teen remained silent, throwing Chris to the ground with a thud. He then rolled back his right sleeve to reveal a large tattoo that covered his forearm. In the center of his palm was a pentagram that began to glow crimson red as he approached Chris for another attack.

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Juniper was about to call it a false alarm when she heard the crackle of thunder. Suddenly the wall beside her exploded and a familiar woman appeared in a flash of green.

"You!" Juniper roared through gritted teeth.

The woman stepped into the light fully revealing herself. She was beautiful with flowing blonde hair and piercing yellow eyes. She wore a grey uniform with red clasps holding the coat tight and at her wrist was a black version of Juniper's wristband.

"I don't believe we've actually met," she said smiling wickedly.

"I don't care who you are!" Juniper screamed leaping at the woman.

The blonde easily sidestepped each of Juniper's attacks, laughing as each punch flew by. Juniper got angrier and angrier until she fell to her knees and bowed her head in exhaustion. This woman, who ever she was, was extremely fast and she was reading Juniper like an open book.

"What's wrong little Te Xuan Ze? Am I too fast for you?" the woman teased keeping just out of Juniper's reach.

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Chris crashed to the ground rolling away from his opponent barely dodging the next attack. Whoever he was, he was fast and he had a lot of power.

"Why are you doing this?" Chris demanded leaping to his feet and jumping away, just barely escaping another attack.

His opponent hadn't said a word since their fight began and he still refused to talk.

"Strong silent type, huh?" Chris asked as he finally found an opening and struck his first blow.

His hand collided with the blue haired teen's jaw and released a loud snap. Yelling in pain Chris cradled his fist as his attacker threw a side kick. Chris tumbled to the ground once again, trying desperately to catch his breath.

'What is this guy made of?' Chris thought, rolling away just as his attacker's foot came crashing down, cracking the ground.

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Juniper stood holding her side. This woman was fast and unbelievably strong, and that laugh of hers was starting to make Juniper crazy.

"Little girl, you have no idea what it is you're up against," the woman stated, "My name is Rage."

The Asian teen backed away as Rage's eyes began to glow green.

"You have to realize by now, there is no way you can defeat me," the woman added raising her palm level with Juniper.

The air around her palm began to heat up as a ball of green energy swirled into formation. This was just like her dream, there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. She knew this was it, she couldn't win this fight. Tears streamed down her face as she realized for the first time, not only had she been defeated, she was like a novice fighting a master.

"Any last words?" Rage asked smugly.

The teen bowed her head and gritted her teeth awaiting the final devastating blow, but it never came. She looked up in surprise to find Rage missing. The blonde woman was nowhere to be seen. But why? She had Juniper cold…

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Chris stepped back into a fighting stance unsure of what was next. He'd never fought someone this strong before. Suddenly the blue haired teen bowed and spun, walking away, and leaving Chris dumbstruck and very confused.

"Hey wait! Where ya goin'?" he asked.

The blue haired teen never looked back, he just kept walking until he disappeared in a flash of light. Chris took a deep breath and then fell backwards.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked in desperation.

Behind him came soft foot steps. Realizing he couldn't withstand another fight with his opponent he rolled into the bushes lining the path leading to the factory. He prayed he was hidden enough that he couldn't be spotted.

Juniper stumbled down the path. She couldn't believe it. She had been beaten. She never stood a chance. What was she going to do? She had never been afraid of anything or anyone before, but this woman…Rage, she was different, she wasn't just some ordinary magically imbued human. She was raw power.

"June…?" came a weak voice from behind.

She spun to see Chris crawl out of the bushes. The pair looked at each other and then bowed their heads. They couldn't bear to look at each other, both ashamed of their own failure.

They stood that way for what felt like hours until finally, Juniper asked.

"You too, huh?"

Chris sat up, "Yeah…I never stood a chance."

"Tell me about it," Juniper added plopping down next to him.

She wanted to tell him about Rage, about how she looked exactly like the woman in her dream, but she was afraid of what Chris might say. Worse, she feared what he might do. The pair sat staring into the sunset, not saying a word, both ashamed of their defeat and unsure of what to do next.

"What do we do now?" Chris asked.

Juniper searched for an answer, "I…I don't know, maybe Ah-Mah…" she stopped at the mention of her grandmother.

How was she going to explain this? For the four years she had been the Te Xuan Ze, Juniper had never been defeated. She had been tricked, knocked around, or sometimes badly hurt, but she had never been defeated. What would Ah-Mah say?

"June?" Chris asked resting a hand on her shoulder, "You okay?"

"No…" she pulled her knees up and hugged them tightly.

She was lost within her thoughts. Once again the pair fell into silence. Chris resolved to sit there with his best friend until she was ready, but in the back of his mind the same question nagged. What were they going to do?

To be continued…

Well what did everybody think? I know its been awhile, but I finally got the story going the way I like it. The next chapter will be up sometime either this weekend or next. Thanks to everyone who supported this story for so long. Until next time.


	5. Has the Girl Been Stopped?

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 5: Has the Girl Been Stopped?

Juniper laid on her grandmother's couch cradling her side. In the kitchen she heard Ah-Mah and Chris talking about their attackers. What had happened to them? They were the best there was when it came to protecting Orchid Bay and in just one afternoon they had both been defeated. They never stood a chance.

The Asian teen cringed when see thought about Rage, the woman who had defeated her. What was she? She was so fast and her power! It was unbelievable. But why did she let her live? Juniper was beaten and yet Rage let her go.

"This isn't good," she heard her grandmother say.

"Why? What's going on?" Chris asked worriedly.

The pair walked into the den where Juniper was and sat down, "Children, there is something I need to tell you…"

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Jody sat at her desk doing her best to finish her history essay, but her mind was on something else entirely. Where had Chris disappeared to? She knew he hated football, but…there was something going on and she intended to find out what it was. He wasn't going to weasel his way out of this one.

The blond teen stood and walked over to her bed, plopping down and bouncing. There had to be an explanation for why he and June were always running off. The pair were brother and sister so there couldn't have been anything going on between them. Her mind was a blur of images and ideas, but nothing made sense. She started to worry. She had always wondered about those two, but now…now that she was involved with him it was more important than ever to know the truth.

"He'll tell me…" she said closing her eyes, "he has to…"

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"So that's it then," Juniper said sadly, "It's over, we lost."

Chris kept his head bowed. How could this have happened?

"June, I…" Ah-Mah started to say.

"We didn't just lose, Ah-Mah!" the teen yelled, "We never stood a chance! I've never seen anyone as powerful as her and as long as she's around we're both useless!"

The elderly Lee lowered her head and spoke softly, "This shouldn't have happened."

Both teens looked up in surprise.

"The Seven Devils were supposed to be sealed away forever," she continued.

"Well they're here and if just one did all of this…" Juniper stated.

"Who are they?" Chris asked, keeping his head bowed.

Ah-Mah sat back and took a deep breath, "It started centuries ago, when the Spirits of Chaos and Order struggled for supremacy. From their battles seven beings were created, the seven devils. Some know them as the Seven Deadly Sins, they are the very definition of evil. Rage, Greed, Lust, Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, and Vanity. They are able to control anyone they wish and their power is nearly unmatched."

"The Spirits of Chaos and Order recognized this new threat and came to terms agreeing that if the Seven Devils were allowed to roam free, all of creation would be destroyed. In order to stop the Devils, special containers were created by the Spirit of Vengeance. These containers were supposed to trap each of the Devils within and seal off their power, but something went wrong and instead of the beings being sealed away, only their spirits were, leaving seven empty hosts."

"It was decided that the hosts would be banished and the containers holding the spirits of the Seven Devils would remain with the Spirit of Vengeance for the rest of eternity. And for seven centuries the spirits were locked away. If they're free now, then there is an extreme unbalance in the world of magic. The power that these spirits contain is unbelievable. No one in either world has the power to defeat them, much less survive an encounter with them."

"However, more troubling than that is the Spirit of Vengeance. This spirit is possibly the most powerful being in existence. If he was defeated or worse yet, killed, then there may not be any hope of defeating the Devils," she finished with remorse as the realization sank in.

The room was deathly silent. No one could think of anything to say. Was it really over? Would they be the guardians that failed? The ones responsible for the deaths of billions?

"What about…" Chris tried to say, "What about using those containers to seal them away again?"

"Chris, the containers had to have been destroyed to release them in the first place, there is no way to reseal them," Ah-Mah explained.

"Well then what about making some new ones? Come on we can't just give up!" he demanded.

"Chris, sit down," Juniper told him, "Don't you get it? We can't win, they're just too strong."

"But…" he sighed, she was right. "So then, what do we do? Just sit here and wait for the world to end?"

The teens looked to each other for any sign of hope, but finding none. This really was the end and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"I suggest the two of you get your matters straight," Ah-Mah said rising, "Because you may not get the chance again."

"What?" they asked in unison.

"I don't know about you two, but I don't intend to go quietly into the night, I plan on fighting tooth and nail," she explained.

"But you just said…" Juniper started.

"Forget what I said!" Ah-Mah interrupted, "There has to be a way! Everything has a weakness and maybe with a little luck and a miracle or two we can pull this off."

"Right," Chris said standing up, "What do you need us to do?"

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Juniper collapsed on her bed. It was three A.M. and she was exhausted. Thinking back over the day she had just had it seemed to have been years ago. Her date with Marcus was that very night. She wanted this more than anything, but she was going to have to cancel. The thought broke her heart because for once things were working out for her. Maybe he'd understand and they could reschedule, she thought rolling over to her pillows.

"The weight of the world is on…my…shoulders," she managed to say before falling fast asleep.

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Juniper approached the big oak tree in front of Orchid Bay High and looked up into the branches.

"You all set?" Chris asked from his usual spot.

"Yeah, you?" she responded stifling a yawn.

The bespectacled teen leapt down and stood to his full height, "I guess I'm as ready as I can be."

As the pair entered the building, Jody pulled up on her bike. She was worried when she saw him. What was she going to say to him? He had his secrets, every guy did, but something just didn't add up with him...

"It's time for the truth," she decided stepping off her bike and running for the door.

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Ah-Mah searched feverishly through each book. There had to be a story or a spell somewhere that told of how the Spirit of Vengeance made the containers. At the same time she was searching for anything on how to survive a battle with the devils. She was coming up with nothing on both counts.

"Hey Monroe, you find anything yet," she called to the library.

The small pug was surrounded on all sides by large volumes of text and on the bridge of his snout sat a pair of glasses, "No, nothing."

The pair had been searching all night since their little meeting. They had to come up with something fast because it was only a matter of time until things got out of control.

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Chris sat in the back of his English class going over everything in his mind. He somehow knew that Juniper was strong enough for this, but he was worried he wasn't. Though he could see monsters and interact with them, he had no real magical powers. He could pull off a spell here and there, but other than that he was just a teenage version of Ray-Ray.

Jody entered the classroom and immediately spotted Chris in the back. Her heart quickened as she approached his desk. At first he didn't notice her, but when she cleared her throat he snapped out of his thoughts and fell backwards in his chair slamming into the wall.

"Chris?" Jody quickly asked apologetically.

He looked up in surprise and said, "I'm fine, I was just…just a little dazed, that's all."

He picked himself up and sat, motioning for her to sit beside him. He didn't say anything, all he could do was stare into her eyes.

"What happened to you last night?" Jody asked suddenly.

He turned away. What was he supposed to tell her? Oh, sorry I had to ditch the game because I was finding out that the world is coming to an end. Yeah, that would really fly.

"Sorry about that," he paused, "something just sorta came up, you know?"

Jody wasn't going to let him get off the hook that easy, "No I don't know, why don't you tell me?"

Chris was blown off guard, she had never pushed this hard before. What was he going to say?

"Chris?" Jody asked, "Please just tell me the truth.What's so important that you can't tell me?"

He looked her in the eye. She had a right to know, didn't she? But how could he explain it to her? He couldn't deal with this right now, "It's nothing big, I just...you shouldn't worry about it."

"Why shouldn't I worry? What are you involved in?" she kept pressing for an answer.

"I…I can't tell you," Chris finally spat out.

"Why not?" Jody quickly asked not giving Chris a chance to drop the subject.

Chris took a deep breath, turned to her, and set his hands on her shoulders, "Do you trust me?"

Now Jody was really starting to get scared, "Why? Chris, are you in trouble?"

The bespectacled teen never pulled his eyes away from hers, "No, but I just need you to trust me. I can't tell you about it, not now."

The sincerity in his voice and the look in his eye, Jody didn't want to let it drop. She didn't want to let him go, but…

"Please…" he asked.

Bowing her head, Jody finally answered, "Okay."

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On the other side of the building Juniper was sitting in her math class trying to decide what to tell Marcus. She was so nervous that thinking about having to fight the Devils was almost a welcome release.

"Hey June," came the familiar soft voice as Marcus sat down next to her.

"Hi Marcus," she responded nervously.

"Listen about our date tonight," he spouted, "I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to reschedule."

"What?" Juniper asked surprised.

"I know, I know, but I really can't get out of it. I have to take care of my grandma, she's really sick and my parents are out of town so I'm the only…"

Juniper rested her index finger on his lips, "Its okay."

Marcus gave her a bewildered look.

"I was actually about to tell you the same thing," she explained.

The two shared in a laugh as the teacher walked in. They smiled as the class began, both free of worry. At least until Juniper remembered the trouble she was going to have to deal with.

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While their peers welcomed the final bell before the weekend, Juniper and Chris dreaded its sound. For some reason their day had been quiet and they both had a sneaking suspicion that the quiet was about to be shattered. They couldn't have been more right as both of their alarms went off.

"So it begins," Chris said cryptically.

They watched as a man dressed all in black appeared before them. The grass and wind blew away from him as he smiled revealing a row of sharp teeth. They couldn't fight him here, there were too many witnesses.

"You disgusting things must be wiped out," the man said revealing his red blazing eyes, "and I, Vanity, am just the one for the job!"

To be continued…

This is it, the battle is about to begin. Or is it? I know I promised you all a chapter in the present and a chapter in the past and I haven't done that, so guess what? The next chapter is a flashback, just to keep you all on the edge of your seats!


	6. Sight Beyond Sight

Flashback time!

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 6: Sight Beyond Sight

Seven year old Juniper Lee ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She thought she was going crazy as she rounded the last corner leading to her grandmother's house. The things she'd seen couldn't possibly be real. Dragons and trolls and elves…they were just make believe…right?

"Ah-Mah! Ah-Mah!" the girl cried leaping up the steps and pounding on the door.

She turned to see if there was something following her and to her surprise found nothing. Suddenly the door opened and she fell back through it.

"Juniper? What is it, what's wrong?" the elderly woman asked.

She started telling her grandmother of the monsters in her school's bathroom and then about the ones on the bus and then finally about the dragon that lived in the lake across the field. Ah-Mah smiled looking down at her.

"So you've finally blossomed," she said reaching down and lifting Juniper to her feet.

"Blossomed?" Juniper asked curiously.

"Do you want to hear a secret?" Ah-Mah asked her smiling.

"A secret…?"

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Chris walked along the lake humming his favorite tune. He held his arms up behind his head as he hopped up on top a stump. To his side something rippled under the water.

"Hmm?" he asked turning to the water.

His eyes went wide. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be!

"A…dragon…?"

The eight year old backed away in utter bewilderment as the water parted and a scaly neck rose. It was white with green hair and red eyes. Its gaze appeared to pass right through him as he stared in astonishment. He smiled as the dragon neared him.

"Hi," the boy said bravely, unafraid of the mythical creature, "Who are you?"

The dragon's head was the size of the boy's body and its teeth were razor sharp. Its piercing eyes leveled with Chris' and slowly, elegantly, it spoke.

"You can see me?" it asked.

The boy was confused, "Of course I can see you."

The dragon's mouth pulled back into a smile as the rest of its serpentine body rose from the water, "What is your name, boy?"

"I'm Chris, what's your name?" he answered, unflinching.

"I have no name," the dragon replied.

"Why not?"

It was a typical eight year old response, "I don't have need of one."

Chris was even more confused, "But…everybody needs a name."

The dragon floated around the boy, looking him up and down, "If that's true, then why don't you name me?"

The boy beamed with excitement at that. He quickly ran through a list of names trying to decide. The dragon was amazed at what stood before him. A human that could actually see him and that wasn't terrified of him like that girl from before.

"What about Haku?"

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Juniper was dumbstruck. A magical world that was invisible to humans? It sounded like something out of a fairytale…or a nightmare.

"And you're sure I'm gonna hafta protect it?" she asked nervously.

Ah-Mah patted her granddaughter on the head, "Don't worry, me and Munroe will be there to help you the whole way."

Juniper looked up, "Munroe? How can he help?"

The pug rolled over onto his feet and approached the pair, "Well at this point I'm a lot more useful than you are!"

Juniper's eyes went wide. A talking dog with a Scottish accent? Now things were just getting freaky.

"What are you staring at?" the dog asked angrily.

"Hush Munroe," Ah-Mah said, "Despite his gruff exterior, the little fur ball is rather helpful. And since he's going to be living with you from now on, he's going to start teaching you right away."

"Whoa whoa, mom and dad aren't going to let me have a dog," Juniper exclaimed.

"I've already set it up with them, I was going to drop him off at the end of the week, but since you're here now, I figured, why not?" Ah-Mah explained.

"So can anyone else hear him?" Juniper asked leaping down in front of the dog.

"I'm right here you know, don't talk about me like I'm not!" Munroe yelled.

"No one except for you and me can hear him, thank heavens," Ah-Mah answered, "Now you two better start getting along because you're going to be spending a lot of time together." The older Lee nudged her granddaughter and her new pet to the door, "And don't worry about it, June, you'll be ready when it's time."

The girl and dog stood on the doorstep looking at each other. Juniper already didn't like him, but if Ah-Mah said she needed him then she really didn't have a choice.

"Well?" Munroe asked impatiently.

"Well what?" Juniper responded.

"Well are you gonna lead the way or not? It's not like I know where you live!" the dog barked.

"You better be nice to me or else I'll turn you into kibble!" she answered starting down the path home.

"WAHOO!" came a yell from across the street, but when Juniper turned to see where it came from there was no one there, just a plume of dust.

"Great," she huffed walking along, trying not to step on the dog walking beside her.

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"Yeah, this is awesome!" Chris yelled as Haku tore through the sky.

The boy was riding on the dragon's back, clinging to his horns as the dragon blasted through another cloud and then turned back and dove at the ground.

"Hang on tight!" the dragon said as he began moving faster and faster.

They effortlessly curled away from the water, just inches above the liquid and kicking up a massive wake. Chris laughed as they finally came to a stop at the shore. The boy tipped over and slid off the dragon landing on the ground with a soft thump.

"How was that?" Haku asked, still floating just above the water.

Dizzy and off balance, Chris rose to his feet laughing, "That was great! Oh man, I've never had so much fun!"

Haku smiled. For the first time in nearly a thousand years he had someone to talk to. A friend.

"I can't wait to tell my friends all about you," Chris said regaining his balance.

Haku's smile disappeared, "No, you can't tell anyone about me."

"Huh? Why not?" the boy asked.

"It's more for your sake than mine, but you see Chris, you're the only one that can see me," the dragon explained.

"But…" Chris said trying to understand.

"Chris, the very fact that you can see me at all means you are very special. You were born with a gift that only a very select few are given and because you were given this gift it is your duty to protect the balance," Haku told the boy, "No one else can know about me because if you told them you'd only stir up a lot of trouble that neither of us want, so let's just keep this a secret, okay?"

"Alright," Chris said sadly.

"Hey, don't get upset, it just means that you have a special friend that only you can see," Haku said.

"Yeah, you're right," the boy responded hugging the dragon's head before running off in the other direction, "I'll see you tomorrow Haku!"

The dragon called after him, "Until tomorrow Chris!"

To be continued…

There, three chapters in one day. Now then, ten points to anyone who knows the reference I'm making with Haku. I just felt like writing this little bit about how June and Chris first discovered the magical world. Short and sweet, but it's a little break before I get into the fight. Until next time everyone.


	7. The Price of Vanity

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 7: The Price of Vanity

"What do we do?" Chris asked running side by side with Juniper.

They rounded another corner trying desperately to find any area of the school away from the other students. Finally they reached the rear of the school near the service entrance. There was no place left to run. They had no choice but to face Vanity.

"You cowards disgust me!" Vanity said appearing behind them.

His head was covered in long blonde hair pulled back into a braid and his eyes blazed red as he threw his coat off. Underneath he wore a black tuxedo with a rose hanging from the lapel.

"Aren't you a little overdressed?" Juniper asked as the teens burst out laughing.

"Were we actually afraid of this overgrown pansy?" Chris added.

"Stop laughing!" Vanity yelled stomping.

Their laughter disappeared as the ground shook.

"That's more like it," the Devil stated as he sized up his prey, "Which of you wants the honor of being the first to die by my hand?"

"Got a plan yet?" Juniper asked turning to Chris.

"No, you?" the bespectacled teen answered.

"Enough stalling! Time to die!" Vanity yelled leaping at them.

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Jody ran through the halls of the school. She had to know what was going on. Chris and June had just run off without any warning. When she came to the end of B-hall she found them, but what were they doing?

Chris dashed forward punching as June kicked, but there was nothing there. Suddenly both teens were sent flying through the air and for an instant Jody could swear she saw the outline of a man.

"What is going on?" she asked exasperated.

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"Jasmine, are you sure this will work?" the little pug asked nervously.

The older woman ignored him as she began speaking the incantation. There were seven porcelain canisters gathered in a circle surrounding her summoning stone. The stone glowed with blue energy as the canisters lifted into the air and started spinning. Different markings appeared beside the spinning canisters before combining with them. Munroe watched in utter fascination as the canisters settled down on the table. Each one

had a different seal that could hold the different Devils. At least that was the plan.

"That was amazing!" Munroe declared as Ah-Mah fell back into her chair. "Jasmine! Are you alright? Jasmine?"

Slowly she raised her hand, setting it down on the little dog's head, "I'm just a little tired…"

"Did…did the spell work?" Munroe asked.

"Theoretically…all they need to do…," she was taking deep breaths, "is separate the spirit from the host…"

Munroe let that sink in as he gathered up the canisters. The way Ah-Mah said it, it sounded easy, but from what Juniper had told him about Rage, separating the spirit and host wasn't going to be easy.

"I need to get these to June right away," he said sliding the jars into a bag and then crawling into the straps. "I just pray I'm not too late."

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Jody peeked around the corner. There they were, the two people she cared about most, striking at nothing and acting like they were getting hit. But what scared her more was the fact that they actually looked hurt. Juniper clasped a hand over her stomach trying to stem the flow of blood while Chris cradled his left arm, it had been sliced open.

"That all ya got, pretty boy?" Juniper stammered.

Jody tried to see who she was talking to, but there was no one there. Were they losing their minds…or was she?

"I've had about enough of this," Chris said kneeling down and grabbing a handful of dirt. "You're convinced that you're the most beautiful creature ever born, huh?"

Jody strained to hear a response, but nothing came.

"Well here's mud in your eye!" the bespectacled teen yelled flinging the dirt in Vanity's face.

The Devil was flabbergasted. As he tried to wipe the dirt away Juniper leapt up, kicking him in the face and sending him crashing to the ground. Before their opponent knew what was happening, Chris pressed the heel of his shoe on Vanity's cheek and spun leaving a black and red mark and causing him to scream out in pain. The teens stood back to back in fighting stances smiling. They had just found Vanity's weakness.

"You animals!" Vanity screamed sitting up and holding his face, "I'll…"

"You'll what?" Juniper yelled triumphantly.

Vanity stood, still holding his face, tears forming in his eyes, "I'll kill you!"

Jody gasped. There was definitely something there, but for some reason she couldn't see it. The air blew harder and harder and then she saw it. It was definitely a man, but she couldn't make out his other features.

"Aw, I think we hurt his feelings," Juniper teased as they jumped to the side.

The figure disappeared from Jody's vision, but then suddenly the wall behind Juniper and Chris exploded. The teens dove forward and leapt up attacking whatever it was. Jody still couldn't see the figure, but when Juniper's fist collided with its jaw she heard the snap and felt the thud as the body fell to the ground.

"We have to end this," Juniper told Chris.

"June!" came the familiar Scottish accent.

"Munroe?" Jody asked trying to stay out of view, "What is he doing here?"

"June, take this and hold it over his body," the dog explained pulling out one of the canisters.

"What is it?" she asked taking the oddly shaped thing.

"There's no time, just do what I tell you!" Munroe snapped.

Jody watched wide-eyed as Juniper kneeled down and held the canister out in front of her. There was a flash and suddenly the body of a blonde haired man appeared. A plume of blue mist rose from his nostrils and mouth and was sucked into the canister. Juniper corked it and then brought it over to her teacher.

"What did this thing just do?" she asked.

"It sealed away whichever Devil you were fighting," the pug explained, "Leaving a blank host with no memory of what happened. He'll wake up in a few hours with a splitting headache, but other than that he's fine."

"I thought these things were supposed to be unbeatable, why was he so easy to beat?" Chris questioned remembering the story Ah-Mah had told them last night.

"From what I understand, the Devil's strength depends on the host. If the host is defeated there is nothing the spirit can do until it's either separated or the host regains consciousness," Munroe told them.

"So we just beat the weakest of them?" Chris stated, "That's just un-frigging-believable!"

He threw his hands up and walked over to the host. Juniper understood exactly why Chris was so upset, but he should be happy, they only had six more to deal with, right? Something clinked from behind them drawing their attention.

"Oh, crap…" Jody spouted falling back as her friends leapt towards her ready to attack.

Chris' eyes went wide, "Jody?"

"Jody?" Juniper exclaimed.

The blonde girl was afraid as they reached for her.

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Juniper sat with Munroe while Chris and Ah-Mah argued over what to do about Jody. She'd seen too much and she was now in as much danger as the rest of them. Despite the fact that her memory could be erased, Chris wouldn't hear it.

"No way, I'm not gonna let you do that!" he yelled shaking the walls.

"It's not your place to decide that!" the older woman yelled right back at him.

"She has a right to know!"

"I agree with you, but the balance must always be maintained," Ah-Mah explained trying to calm the situation down.

Jody watched as the two went back and forth. She had gotten her wish and now knew why Chris and Juniper were always running off. Little did she realize that this wasn't the first time she had found out their secret, but she had no memory of the previous **times**.

In the den, Munroe sat in Juniper's lap as she stroked his head. Neither knew what to do. They had a duty to protect the balance and that meant erasing Jody's memory of the entire event, but…right now it didn't seem to matter. If the Devils couldn't be stopped then the secrecy was a moot point.

"What do you think?" the Asian girl asked looking down at the little pug.

"I don't know," he responded, "it's a pretty dicey decision that needs to be made."

"Yeah," was all Juniper could say looking back towards the kitchen.

"Maybe she can help us, I mean you never know," Chris pleaded.

"You heard her, she couldn't actually see him, she has no magical ability whatsoever, and you know what that means," Ah-Mah explained.

"But…but this is what I want, I want her to know so she doesn't think…" he went silent.

Jody piped up, "So I don't think what?"

Chris bowed his head and spoke softly, "So you don't think I'm such a flake or that I'm going behind your back."

Jody bowed her head as well. Everything made sense now. All the times that he and June had been acting weird or when they disappeared. If she had known they were protecting the world she never would have gotten so upset or asked so many questions.

"What if I can help?" the blonde asked sincerely.

Ah-Mah turned to her, "What can you do to help us, Jody?"

The girl thought for a minute, but she couldn't come up with anything.

"You see, it is better that you not know," Ah-Mah told her placing a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Mrs. Lee…Jasmine," Chris said standing, "We need all the help we can get, I mean even if she can't help us fight, she's another pair of eyes out there and right now we need all the help we can get."

"Do you really think she's up to the job?" Ah-Mah asked as they both turned to look at Jody.

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The moon had settled in its usual spot in the night sky. Below, it illuminated two lovers as they walked along the lake. They walked hand in hand, neither speaking a word until the boy stopped.

"So this is why you asked me to just trust you," Jody stated simply.

Chris stared at the ground, "I have always wanted to tell you, but I couldn't."

They stood in silence. Beside them the water stirred as an old friend made his presence known. He watched as Chris pulled Jody into a hug and then asked her to face the water.

"Now you have to promise not to scream," he told her reaching into his pocket and revealing a strange pendant on a cord.

"I promise," Jody assured him as he slung the cord over her head and let the pendant rest on her chest.

As the pendant crossed her eyes something fantastic appeared. Despite her promise, Jody couldn't help but scream a little when she saw the white scaled dragon known as Haku staring at her with a smile on his face.

"Oh wow!" was all she could say as Haku brought his head close enough for her to touch.

"Jody, this is my very good friend Haku," he explained smiling, "Haku, this is the girl I told you about."

Haku tipped his head in greeting, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Jody."

The blonde laughed, she had never heard someone speak in such a refined manner. To her astonishment, the dragon was polite and kind, unlike many of the stories she had heard as a child. When Haku asked her if she wanted a ride she could feel her heart skip a beat. Chris hopped onto Haku's back and offered his hand to her.

"Do you trust me?" he asked looking into her eyes.

Accepting his hand she climbed aboard and wrapped her arms around him, "Always."

She yelped as they soared up into the air and through the clouds. It was like a dream, never before had she felt so alive, so real! She never wanted this moment to end as the trio soared above the clouds towards the moon.

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Juniper sat at the window watching her friends take off into the air. She remembered what it was like the first time she met Haku and flew with him. It reminded her of better times. Of easier times. Now she was afraid of what tomorrow held. She rubbed the bandage beneath her shirt as she leaned against the glass, looking up into the night sky.

Behind her lay Munroe. The pug was sprawled out in the middle of the den, snoring away. On the couch sat Ah-Mah. She wore a very concerned look on her face. Her mind was ablaze with great and terrible thoughts. What if June and Chris weren't enough? What if they couldn't stop the Seven Devils? She looked to her granddaughter, searching for hope and found it when she saw the smile June wore on her face. She knew in her heart that her granddaughter would do everything in her power to stop them and save the world. For right now, that was all the reassurance she needed.

To be continued…

Okay, this is definitely the last chapter for a while, I need to study for my tests, but next chapter I'll introduce everyone's favorite miscreant…Ray-Ray! Yeah, so be here for that. And for those of you who don't know the reference I'm making with the white scaled, green haired dragon named Haku, I think you need to see Spirited Away. Just a little tribute to Hayao Miyazaki and the beauty his creations have brought to my life. Until next time everyone.


	8. The Day His Life Changed

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 8: The Day His Life Changed

When Chris was nine he faced the greatest tragedy of his entire life. The death of his parents would shape him into the teenager he is today, but at the time the young boy didn't think he could go on. He loved his parents with all his heart and without them he felt lost. If it hadn't been for his friends standing by his side he would surely have been swallowed up by the anger and hatred dwelling within his heart.

After the funeral the nine year old boy began to question his future. Would he become lost within the foster care system or was there a plan already set up for him? Luckily for him, his parents and the Lee's were extremely close. Juniper and Chris' fathers worked together and coincidentally enough, were neighbors. That, among other things, was why the children were such good friends.

Not long after that Chris fell into the custody of the Lee's, as outlined in his parent's will. However, the boy did not move in with his new family, instead preferring to live in his own house. This was how the family had lived for such a long time and no one questioned it.

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The front door swung open and in stepped Mr. Lee holding the sleeping body of his godson, Chris. The funeral had been too much for the boy and he had collapsed from exhaustion. Behind him followed his eight year old daughter, Juniper, who was extremely worried about her best friend. They had been through so much since meeting four years ago, but this was by far the hardest thing they had ever experienced.

"Daddy?" Juniper asked in a squeaky voice, "Is Chris gonna be okay?"

Her father pulled the boy's shoes off and slipped him into his bed, pulling the covers over the boy, "He just needs some rest, Honey."

With that the weary father fell back into a nearby chair and watched as his godson slept. He hoped that it was peaceful, but knew in is heart that it most likely wasn't. Chris had been so close to his parents, this wasn't going to be easy. Juniper looked at her father and could see the pain in his eyes. How could this have happened? A car accident? It wasn't fair, they were good people! And yet, it seemed that no amount of good could protect someone from the hand of fate.

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The following morning Chris awoke to the sound of a man falling out of his chair with a loud thump. The boy looked over and found Mr. Lee dusting himself off as he stood.

"Good morning, Chris," the man said in a somber voice.

"Good morning," the boy replied looking down at his sheets.

The room was silent as the older man tried to think of the right thing to say. What could he say?

Suddenly the boy leapt out of his bed and stood to his full two foot height and said, "I'm hungry," and with that he walked out of the room.

The man was amazed, "What just happened?" he asked flabbergasted.

Downstairs Chris found Juniper, still dressed in her black dress, snoring away on the couch. He stifled a small smirk, but it quickly faded. It hurt too much to smile knowing he would never see his parents again. He turned and entered the kitchen opening the refrigerator. He was starving as his belly started churning. Suddenly, eating didn't feel like such a good idea.

"Chris?" Mr. Lee asked from the entrance.

The boy turned to face him with tears pouring out of his eyes.

"It's okay," the man said pulling the boy into a hug, "I miss them too."

The boy didn't have to say anything for the man to know what was wrong.

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A week had passed since the funeral and Chris had finally returned to school. The other children shied away from him as he passed them in the halls. Behind him followed Juniper, who had taken it upon herself to stand by him through anything and everything. As he approached his classroom Jody stepped in front of him. The little blonde girl kept her head bowed as she raised an envelope with both hands. She wanted to say something to him, anything to tell him she cared, but she couldn't find her voice.

Chris accepted it and then thanked her before pushing through the door of his homeroom. Juniper stood outside with Jody watching the boy through the little window in the door.

"How is he?" the blonde girl asked.

"He won't eat, he barely sleeps, and he hardly speaks, but at least he's out of the house," the Asian girl answered. "You know, he really needs his friends to stick by him."

Jody blushed slightly, "I know and I will, I just…"

"Yeah, I know," Juniper replied.

The pair entered the classroom and sat down on either side of the boy.

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Jody waited patiently for her friends. Chris and Juniper were talking to the teacher about his current situation. As most of the adults in Chris' life had done, she offered him a shoulder to cry on should he need it. As the trio walked to the lunch room, they met up with Ophelia and Roger, who was nursing a black eye.

For the first time since the accident Chris started a conversation, "What happened to you?"

Roger quickly racked his brain trying to come up with a cool reason for the injury, but before he could say anything, Ophelia explained that one of the fifth graders had decked Roger for being too short. They were third graders and constant targets for the vicious fifth graders. Anything they did was instantly berated by the older kids and if one of the third graders should be caught alone, he was instantly sorry for it.

"Which one?" Chris asked without batting an eye.

Juniper was nervous as she let the question sink in. What was he going to do? He wasn't planning on…

Roger pointed to a tall fifth grader with a black shirt and torn up jeans. Most people referred to him as Moose because of his monstrous strength, but Chris wasn't fazed at all. He had no compassion for bullies, especially those that targeted his friends. Juniper was horrified as her friend walked up behind the eleven year old.

"Hey Moose, looks like you've got a visitor," one of the other fifth graders said pointing to the pint size Chris.

Moose turned around and stood to his full height, towering over Chris. He cracked his knuckles as a wicked smile crossed his face.

"You got a problem runt?" he sneered.

"You hurt my friend," Chris answered bowing his head.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" Moose demanded reaching for Chris.

The eleven year old never saw the attack coming as Chris' foot collided with his groin. The muscle bound boy fell to his knees cupping his privates as his eyes watered. Suddenly the other boys at Moose's table stood and stepped toward Chris. Juniper watched as the massacre began. The nine year old never stood a chance. He may have been in karate, but he wasn't strong enough to take them all on.

Juniper and the others cringed as Chris fell face first to the ground.

"Stupid little punk," one of the fifth graders said helping Moose to his feet.

Amazingly Chris raised his head and grabbed the boy's leg, "That…all you… got?"

The fifth grader pulled his leg free and was about to bring it down on Chris when, from out of nowhere, the other third graders leapt all over him. Juniper and Jody swung from his arms as Ophelia and Roger clutched his legs. Chris watched as his friends clung to the older boy trying to stop him. Even though his parents were gone, his friends still cared about him enough to risk getting beaten up for him. Not that the fifth graders would get the chance. The Principal, Vice-Principal, and Disciplinarian pulled the groups apart and held them until the room quieted down.

With a little help from the school nurse, Chris climbed to his feet. He was a mess. There was a big purple bruise under his right eye and his nose was pouring blood. He was even missing one of his front teeth as the nurse checked the rest of his injuries. What a mess…

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Juniper helped Chris walk home. It was strange, but for the first time in a long time, he was smiling. And it wasn't just a smirk, it was a big toothy grin, except he only had one tooth in the front of his mouth.

"You're such a dork, you know that?" Juniper asked, berating her friend.

He chuckled, "Yeah, but it was worth it, June."

She stifled a smile as they entered his house. How were they going to explain this? His head was wrapped in a bandage and he had dark bruises all over. They would worry about that later, they decided. For right now, Chris was just happy to be getting back to his old self. He still mourned the death of his parents and it still hurt, but he couldn't let their deaths be the end of his life as well.

"I'll check on you later, right now I need to go explain to Mom and Dad why we're so late," Juniper explained.

"Yeah okay," Chris responded, limping his way to the kitchen and pulling out something to eat.

Alone, he looked over his shoulder to see that another friend was waiting for him.

"Hey Haku," the boy said.

"Hey? Is that all you have to say for yourself?" the white scaled dragon demanded, descending the stairs.

"What do you want me to say?" the boy asked stuffing his dinner into the microwave.

The dragon had been worried when he hadn't seen or heard from Chris in nearly two weeks, "Why don't you explain where you've been for the last two weeks?"

Chris bowed his head again. It hurt to think about them especially right now, but Haku had a right to know.

"There's something important I have to tell you," Chris explained walking up to the dragon and hugging his snout.

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Juniper and Chris sat on her roof watching the stars and the moon shine. They had both been chewed out by her parents and grounded for the rest of the month. They understood that Chris was upset, but that was no reason to around starting fights. The pair graciously accepted their punishment, but Juniper still slugged Chris in the arm for getting her in trouble. It was almost back to normal except for the event that hung heavily on everyone's mind.

"June?" Chris asked never taking his eyes off the night sky.

The girl looked over at him, "Yeah?"

"Thank you," he told her.

"What are friends for?" she asked sliding over to him, wrapping her arm around his and resting her head on his shoulder.

To be continued…

Well, there you have it, a glimpse into Chris' origin and the reason why June and him are so close. Still, they haven't revealed their secrets to each other yet. When will that happen you ask? Well, I'm working on that as we speak so stay tuned for more. Until then, later everyone.


	9. Sloth & Gluttony

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 9: Sloth & Gluttony

Juniper walked through the halls of the new office building praying that no one was there. She couldn't fight another one of the devils and protect an innocent bystander at the same time. And with Chris following another lead, she had to stay on her toes. She still couldn't believe it though. Everything that had happened since their battle with Vanity had pointed to Sloth being the weakest. Apparently he lived only to kick back and relax. In any event, she hoped the tomes were true.

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"Can't believe this crap," Chris muttered running down the alley way chasing a blue troll, "Every time I try to ask a simple question these idiots start running!"

The troll rounded another corner and came skidding to a stop…dead end. He spun just as Chris ran up behind him.

"Nowhere left to run, buddy boy," the bespectacled teen said, "Now then, how about answering my question?"

The troll looked to either side and then a devious smile crossed his face, "You humans are all the same, you always think we're running…"

Chris' eyes narrowed as two more trolls appeared in the alleyway. They were easily twice his size and reeked of rotten meat as they approached the teen.

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"No Monroe, nothing, there's no trace of this Sloth guy," Juniper spoke into her cell phone.

"Well the alarm wasn't for nothing, there has to be something there," the little dog barked back at her, "Take another look around and then meet up with Chris, maybe he's found something."

She agreed and hung up opening up the door leading to the building's lobby. Another great waste of a Saturday. Why did this always happen to her? Well, at least her date with Marcus was rescheduled. As she crossed the lobby a vision of his eyes crossed her mind and she started to blush. She didn't realize she had walked into a trap until it was too late.

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"Now then," Chris stated wiping his hands off, "This is your last chance to tell me what I want to know."

In front of him laid the three trolls piled one on top of the other. Each one had been pummeled into submission and quaked as he reached for the one on top.

"Where are they?" he demanded.

"Is that how you get all your information?" came a melodic voice from behind.

He knew it right away, he could never forget after what she had done. Turning he came face to face with none other than Ashley the 4th level witch. He squinted slightly from her glowing pink tutu.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, obviously less than amused.

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Juniper struggled as the tail lifted her into the air and began squeezing. She could feel the air being forced from her lungs as she was brought in front of the creature's large head. Two blazing red eyes glared at her through the shadows of the ceiling and rows of sharp teeth appeared as the creature smiled.

"It's been such a long time since I've had Chinese," it laughed.

She wriggled her arms until finally she punched her left arm free, clocking the beast in the jaw. The tail loosened around her and she fell to the ground, looking up just as the creature landed just feet from her.

"You want Chinese, get some take out!" she yelled leaping at the creature.

The lobby was filled with the sounds of battle as the pair went at each other. Windows shattered, walls cracked and fell, and the doors exploded out as Juniper tossed the beast out into the blazing sun. It squealed in agony as it skin blistered and popped until finally its body exploded splattering Juniper and the building in purple goop.

"Oh yum," she said sarcastically letting her shoulders droop and her heart slow down.

At least it wasn't one of the devils, she thought walking out and looking back at the building.

"Maybe I should go," she said turning and running from the now partially destroyed building.

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"Go home, Ashley," Chris said angrily, dragging the trolls behind him.

She floated around behind him spinning and humming, "Come on, you need my help on this one, why else would Monroe call me?"

He let the trolls drop and turned to face her, trying with all his might to keep his temper in check, "I guarantee he didn't call you looking for help, he probably just wanted to know if you'd noticed anything strange going on."

"You're still angry at me aren't you?" she pouted, biting her lip.

He grabbed the trolls and turned away from her, "What was your first clue?"

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"Ah-Mah, I've taken three showers and I still can't get the stench out of my hair," Juniper called from upstairs.

Her grandmother looked up, "Try these," she said tossing up a bag of lemons, "If they don't do it, we can always shave your head."

"Thanks a lot," the teen responded obviously not very amused.

A knock came at the door, but when Ah-Mah answered it she wasn't expecting to find trolls, a witch, and a very angry Chris.

"Look what the cat dragged in," the old woman laughed as they entered.

"Not today," Chris replied storming away into the kitchen.

"Hello Ashley," Ah-Mah said as the blonde witch made her way into the living room and sat down next to Monroe. "What brings you to Orchid Bay?"

"I called her in," Monroe answered for the girl.

"This should be good…" Ah-Mah replied rubbing her temples.

Behind her, Juniper came bounding down the stairs, skidding to a stop when she saw the witch, "WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?"

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"This is ridiculous," Juniper stated walking side by side with Chris and with Ashley and Monroe in tow.

"Tell me about it, didn't she cause enough trouble last time she was here?" he asked looking back at their new "teammate".

The blonde teen held Monroe in her arms, scratching his head, completely unaware of how angry the others were. The last time they had gotten together was Ashley's thirteenth birthday party when she teleported Juniper and Chris to spend the day with her. She didn't have many friends, and it was a small wonder why. At the party she stuck Juniper in a frilly dress and Chris in tuxedo, needless to say neither was too happy especially when it came time for them to play games.

Chris shuddered when he thought back on those horrible games. If she had any plans to do anything like that again, he was going to hang himself with a belt.

As they walked up to Juniper's house, Ray-Ray came running out with a big smile. He leapt at Ashley engulfing her in a big hug. He had loved her since the moment they met all those years ago and that hadn't changed.

"Hi Ray-Ray," she said placing a small kiss on his forehead.

The twelve year old melted as she walked by. Picking him up by his shirt collar Juniper dragged him into the house. Chris took a look around before walking in after them.

"Alright, so you're going to be working with us," Juniper stated "But tell me again why you have to stay with me?"

"Well there's no way in hell she's staying with me," Chris said plopping down on the couch.

"Thanks a lot," the Asian teen sneered.

"She can stay in my room!" Ray-Ray volunteered only to have his sister push him over.

"The couch is fine," Ashley suggested pulling her shoes off to reveal her pink, individually toed socks.

"Fine then, you can have the couch, good night," Juniper stated picking Ray-Ray, "Let's go Casanova."

Ashley looked to Chris as he stood and walked out the door. He really couldn't stand her, but he knew he had to. They could use all the help they could find, even if it meant dealing with her.

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Morning came fast as the sun peeked through the blinds in Juniper's room. Groggily she walked over to her window and looked over to Chris' house. He was already awake and exercising. Downstairs she heard the familiar laugh of her little brother and remembered who else was down there.

"Well, here we go," she said as she got ready for the day.

Twenty minutes later she emerged from upstairs and sat down at the table as Ashley set a plate in front of her. There were two eggs, bacon, and a strawberry in the shape of a smiley face.

"Uh, thank you…?" she said picking up a fork.

"Oh no problem June," Ashley giggled, "When's Chris coming over?"

Juniper smiled as she bit into a slice of the egg, "When he gets done working out."

"Well then," the blonde girl said setting down another plate, exactly like Juniper's and covering it, "His breakfast will be here waiting for him."

Almost on cue the sixteen year old came in through the kitchen door and sat down, "Morning everyone."

Juniper raised her fork, Ray-Ray smiled as he gulped a slice of his pancakes, and Ashley walked over to reveal his breakfast.

"Wow," he stated, "This looks great…did you make it?"

The blonde girl smiled and nodded as she sat down with her own plate. Chris watched her as he ate thinking in the back of his mind that maybe, just maybe he was wrong about her. Then she giggled and he suddenly felt nauseas.

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Ray-Ray and Monroe watched as the trio ran down the street. A call had come in while they were finishing their breakfast. This time it seemed to be the real deal. Someone, or rather, something had just attacked a market downtown. This was something they had never faced before. Usually attacks had a way of occurring in wide open areas with no one around or in the park, but this time, it was in broad daylight on a busy city street.

However just as one fight started another began. Unbeknownst to the teens a new enemy had appeared right at home. A green haired man with yellow blazing eyes pushed his way through the door in the kitchen and made his way to the living room where he found Ray-Ray and Monroe, both completely speechless as to what they were witnessing.

"Hey, who the heck are you?" Ray-Ray demanded walking up to him.

"Sloth," he said placing a hand over Ray-Ray's face and pushing the boy away.

Monroe could only watch as Sloth laid down on the couch and fell asleep. What the devil was going on?

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The three teens leapt away as one of the tables was launched at them. Inside was a man that towered over all three in height and out weighed them by at least 200 pounds. His eyes were blank as he went back to eating the food on the surrounding plates. Chris stood and watched as the man engorged himself completely oblivious to his surroundings. Looking to his side, Chris saw that the girls were just as confused.

"Uh, sir?" the bespectacled teen asked approaching the piggish man, "You okay?"

Without a sound the man turned and sank his teeth into the teen's arm.

"YAAAA! Get him off!" Chris yelled trying to pry his arm free.

Juniper was at his side immediately, punching and kicking the man all the while trying to get her half brother free. Ashley stood at the entrance to the shop nervously watching the whole thing go down. It was like a bad comedy, but when she saw blood spray from Chris' arm she knew it was no joke.

"POTS!" she yelled freezing the fight.

She ran up to them and looked carefully at the situation. Until she released them from the spell she could do whatever she wanted to them, but right now her main concern was freeing Chris' arm from the man's jaws.

At first she tried pulling the jaws open, but they wouldn't budge, then she tried just pulling the teen's arm free, but stopped when the flesh started to tear. Finally she decided the best way to free him was to release them from the spell. With a swipe of her wand the three of them fell to the ground with a loud crash.

His arm free, Chris rolled away and leapt to his feet, "What the…how the…who the…um, what just happened?"

Juniper grabbed the man by his collar and lifted the man by his throat, "Somebody got a plan?"

Before anyone could do anything the man brought his hands down on Juniper's shoulders causing her to collapse. Drooling as he picked her up, he apparently planned to eat her.

"Put her down, you bastard!" Chris yelled charging the man and throwing every ounce of energy he had into a tackle.

The man laughed as the bespectacled teen bounced off of his fatty bulges and crashed to the ground. They had to do something or else…

"ERIF!" Ashley yelled as the man's arm burst into flames.

Dropping Juniper he backed away screaming in agony trying to dowse the flames to no avail. The fire spread to his hand and then set his clothes ablaze. Ashley only watched as the man writhed around on the ground.

"Ashley stop!" Chris yelled pulling Juniper away from their flaming opponent, "You have to put it out, he's just a host!"

Reacting quickly the teen turned to the man and yelled, "ERIF ENOG!"

As quickly as the blaze had sparked, it now disappeared. The man fell to the ground, his skin smoking. Chris looked over to the witch with a confused look.

"My powers have grown quite a bit since the last time we met," she explained walking out of the market to face all of the people outside that had witnessed the battle.

Chris looked down at his half sister and then over at the man he assumed was called Gluttony. Things were getting more and more intense with every passing day. At least this fight was over her thought setting Juniper down and walking over to Gluttony holding the container over the body. As the spirit of Gluttony was sucked out of the host, the body began to shrink and finally revealed a boy who couldn't have been more than eight or nine.

"Oh my God," he said sealing the spirit within its container.

Outside, the people backed away as Ashley approached giving her room to speak, "Ladies and gentleman I need your attention please," she explained raising her hands in the air, "TEGROF!"

There was flash of white light as the people's memories of the entire event were erased. Memories were gone in a flash, photographs in cameras and on disks were deleted, and everything appeared to have gone back to normal.

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"So what do we do?" Ray-Ray asked Monroe as they watched the green haired man.

He was sound asleep and snoring loudly. He didn't seem to be any trouble and yet, there was something unsettling about him.

"Well, get one of the containers," Monroe told the twelve year old, "We can at least seal him away before he can cause any real trouble."

Outside, the three teens walked slowly up the steps of the house. Juniper had her arms around Chris and Ashley's necks to keep from falling. She was really out of it. Gluttony had managed to not only knock her cold, but hit a powerful pressure point. She wouldn't be fighting anyone for a while.

Just as they reached for the door a flash of light exploded out through the windows. Looking at each other Chris and Ashley burst through the door to see Ray-Ray and Monroe laughing and holding one of the canisters.

"Okay, what just happened?" Ashley asked, mimicking Chris' usual reaction.

"Oh nothing," the boy said tossing Chris the canister, "Just sealing away one of the bad guys."

Chris looked over at the couch to see the sleeping form of a green haired man, "You're telling me you, the two of you, beat one of the Devils?"

"What, like its hard?" Monroe added walking side by side with Ray-Ray.

Ashley laughed as Chris dragged Juniper over to couch. He pulled the man off and dropped her on it then proceeded to drag the man to the side of the road where he shook the man awake.

"Hey buddy," Chris said pulling the man to his feet, "Go home."

He then walked back inside and slammed the door.

To Be Continued…

Well? What did you think? Two devils in one chapter and Ashley. I know I'm asking for trouble with this one, but what the hell right? For those of you who are wondering, Ashley's magic works by saying whatever she wants to happen backwards. So to create fire she just has to say ERIF and so on and so on. Okay, with only four Devils left and a new teammate can June and Chris save the world? Or will things fall apart around them? Be here next time as Chris and June reveal to each other for the first time their true powers.


	10. House Call

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 10: House Call

Chris was laid out on the old couch in Ah-Mah's house, staring up at the ceiling. Across from him sat Ashley, now sporting a pair of Juniper's old jeans and a blue and pink t-shirt. Her hair had straightened out since the last time they had met, but she still wore it the same way. The witch twiddled her thumbs as she tried desperately to think of something to say to him, but nothing seemed right. That was when the door bell rang. Chris was up and answering it in a flash leaving Ashley alone with her thoughts.

As the bespectacled teen pulled back the door he was met with a kiss as a slender pair of arms wrapped around his neck. Stepping back he pulled Jody into view, their lips never parting until finally they had to stop to breathe.

"Hi," Chris said taking deep breaths.

Jody just smiled until she saw the bandage wrapped around his right forearm, "What happened?"

Chris bowed his head, "Its nothing, just a scratch."

Ashley stood in the living room listening as the couple spoke. She leaned back against the wall and slid to the ground, hugging her knees. Her stomach was twisting in knots as Chris explained to Jody what had happened, leaving out the part about the boy and about how bad his wound really was. She had always wondered what it felt like to have someone care about you, someone to worry about you, someone to be there when you got back from a call. Ashley had never known that feeling, she was always alone.

"You have to take better care of yourself!" Jody yelled looking up at Chris with pleading eyes.

He sighed before pulling her up against his body and whispered into her ear, "I'm sorry. I'll do my best next time."

"You have to come back to me," she responded, starting to cry into his shoulder, "You're all I've got."

"I promise," he told her, "No matter what, I will always come back to you."

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Juniper stood on the roof of her grandmother's house looking up into the night sky. Her body ached and she was exhausted. It had been a long, hard day, especially when they found out that they had been fighting a child. She couldn't believe that anything could be so cruel as to use a little boy as a host. The boy was okay, but he was scared and very confused. Just one more reason why the Devils had to be stopped.

Behind her, Ashley stepped out onto the roof and slid down next to her. She had tears in her eyes, but she tried to hide them from Juniper.

The Asian teen looked over at the newest member of her team and rested a hand on the blonde's shoulder, "What's wrong with you?"

Ashley didn't look up. What could she possibly say? That she was jealous of Jody? That she wished Chris would hold her in his arms and promise her that everything was okay? No, she couldn't say that…

"Nothing," the blonde snapped, catching Juniper off guard.

Juniper already didn't like Ashley, but the attitude wasn't helping any. The raven haired teen stepped back and crossed her arms looking back up at the stars. The silence between them was deafening.

Finally Ashley spoke up, "How did you guys first start working together?"

"What?" Juniper responded, blown away by the sudden interest.

"How did you and Chris start doing this?" she asked again.

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"You want to know how me and June started doing all of this?" Chris asked in response to Jody's request.

The couple sat with their arms wrapped around each other, "Yeah, I don't know that one."

Chris thought about it for a minute and then took a deep breath…

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Eleven year old Juniper Lee checked to make sure the banishing stone was still in her pocket. It was her first time using a magical weapon and she still couldn't believe its power. The stone looked just like an emerald, except that it was the size of her fist. She couldn't wait to use it for the first time.

Twelve year old Chris pulled on his glasses for the first time and looked at himself in the mirror. He couldn't believe it…glasses! Like he wasn't already different enough, now he would have to endure the endless wave of four-eyes taunts that were sure to come with them. Well, at least he could see clearly again.

Juniper ran through the park searching for any of the usual signs of monster activity, but there were none. Where was everyone? This wasn't normal, she thought as she continued her search for some form of life. As she neared the park's entrance to the forest her wristband went off. Her eyes lit up as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the banishing stone. This was going to be fun.

Chris jumped when Haku's gigantic head burst through the door of his room. The dragon quickly explained the urgency of his entrance and seconds later, he and Chris soared through the air headed towards the park. Whatever it was, it was big and it was mean. The boy rolled up his sleeves and pulled up his hood to hide his face. Another monster had made the mistake of coming into his territory.

The Asian girl ran through the forest in search of the disturbance, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. The tree spirits all waved as she ran past, but they belonged there. So then what was the call for? Juniper entered a clearing and hunched over taking deep breaths. Above her something stirred sending several leaves fluttering down to the ground below. The raven haired girl looked up just as her opponent made his presence perfectly clear.

The boy and his dragon tore through the forest searching for the cause of all the ruckus until they came to the same clearing Juniper had come across. Chris leapt down from Haku and looked around. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, but then again he didn't live in an ordinary world. Suddenly something lunged at him from behind, knocking his glasses from his face.

They rolled across the ground punching and grabbing each other until they leapt away from one another. Stepping back into fighting stances they tried to measure each other up. Juniper could only smirk when she saw that her opponent was nothing more than a magically imbued human, hardly even worthy of her attention. He was even trying to be cool by having his hood hide his face.

Chris on the other hand could just barely see the form of his opponent. Without his glasses all he could make out were dull shapes, no details. He was in a world of trouble and there was nothing he could do except rely on his training as his opponent raced forward to strike.

The fighters dodged and swung, punched and kicked, occasionally blocking an attack, but neither gained or lost any ground. Finally Juniper saw her opening as Chris threw a roundhouse kick. The Asian girl swept his leg to the side, opening up his stomach just as she threw an uppercut. Chris felt something in his chest pop as he heaved. He'd never been hit so hard in all his life, but the pain was just starting. A left hook sent him sprawling to the ground as his opponent leapt on top of him, pulling him up by the collar as his hood fell away. Juniper wound up, ready to deal the finishing blow when she recognized her opponent's face.

"Chris?" she asked, bewildered as to what her half brother was doing there.

He flung his head forward, grabbing her by the collar to look up at her, "June?"

In unison they both yelled, "What the hell are you doing here?"

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"So you nearly killed each other?" Jody asked worriedly.

Chris laughed, "No, it was more like June nearly killed me. I never stood a chance."

Jody shook her head as he continued to laugh. It would be years before Chris was strong enough to stand against Juniper, but the next time they faced off it was a very different outcome. However, that was a story for another day.

Up on the roof, Juniper chuckled as Ashley sat in wide eyed wonder at her story. It really wasn't that funny and yet…they couldn't help but laugh about it.

Ashley smiled as she shook her hands up and down excitedly, "What happened next?"

Juniper turned away and continued, "And there we were…"

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Haku heard a loud whap and suddenly Chris came skidding up beside him. From out of the forest stepped Juniper, who froze when she saw him. They hadn't seen each other since the day Juniper's powers activated, but they would never forget one another.

Crossing her arms and sweeping away, "Alright, someone has a lot of explaining to do!"

Chris rubbed his jaw as he woozily stood up, "You first," he moaned.

Suddenly Haku formed a shield around the two of them, "Time for that later!"

The kids looked up as loud explosions started sounding off and Haku began yelling in pain. Juniper watched as Chris pounded on Haku from within, surprised by his actions.

"Haku, stop! Let us out, we have to fight!" the boy yelled trying to get free of his guardian.

The dragon didn't respond. He coughed and then fell away revealing that the clearing now stood in ruins and flames. Chris was at Haku's head in a flash trying to wake the dragon up. He didn't see their attacker floating high above in the sky, but Juniper did. She gritted her teeth and pulled out the banishing stone as their enemy came down to greet them.

"Chris!" Juniper yelled, causing him to look up at his new opponent.

"I don't care who you are or what you want…nobody and I mean nobody does that to one of my friends!" the boy declared leaping forward and kicking with all his might.

His opponent sidestepped the attack, but Chris wasn't done yet. He spun with a punch and then dropped down to sweep out his attacker's feet, but no matter what attack he used he just wasn't strong enough. Laughing, Chris' opponent backhanded the boy sending him to the ground with a thud.

"Pathetic human!" he yelled turning his attention to Juniper.

He had grey skin and long, bushy yellow hair. His clothes looked like something from some samurai fantasy anime and his laugh was sickening. His eyes shifted red as his tattoos began to glow.

"I am Chadric the Conqueror and I claim this land as my own!" Chadric declared.

He had just finished introducing himself when Juniper smashed him in the face with all her might. She stepped back as he began to wobble and mumble.

"Who's pathetic now, wannabe?" she asked sarcastically.

Chris watched as Juniper's stone began glowing and a beam shot out tearing open a portal to a land he had never seen before. And then just as suddenly as it had started it was over and Chris and Juniper were left standing in what was left of the clearing.

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"After that we just sorta came to a conclusion that we should work together. Haku was fine except for a few bumps and bruises, not that he didn't milk it for everything it was worth," Chris finished.

"You just started working together after that?" Jody asked, "Come on where's the substance? Where's the big speeches about power and responsibility?"

Chris gave her a weird look, "I don't know what else to tell you. I mean we were already best friends so there wasn't any partnership to discuss and we both recognized each other's power, so there really wasn't much else to tell."

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"What do you mean that's all?" Ashley pleaded, "What about the other stuff? Like how Ray-Ray gained his sight and how Chris gained his own powers?"

Juniper walked back to the window, "That's all there is to tell, it wasn't like a comic book superhero team up, we just started working together because we were a perfect fit."

Ashley rested her head on her knees and stared out over Ah-Mah's land. Would she ever find that perfect fit? Had she already found it?

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Ah-Mah slowly opened her eyes. She had been meditating for several hours now, trying to find some sort of fix on the Devils, but it was to no avail. They were far too powerful for normal magic and now that the weakest had been taken down, the others had more magic to draw from. Greed, Envy, Lust, and Rage, not to mention the blue haired assailant that attacked Chris. It was strange though, they hadn't really done anything to form a powerbase or tried to free any of the old gods that could reshape the world. They just seemed to show up randomly and cause trouble. There had to be more to their plan than that, but what?

As she thought back on her meditation she recalled the vision she had of Chris. He was surrounded in flames and his eyes burned with hatred. Something about that vision scared her. What did it mean? The teen had never shown any signs of having magical abilities beyond his sight, but his father, on the other hand, was one of the most powerful sorcerers ever born. He was also the last known firecasters and with his death it was believed that the genetic trait was gone. Maybe that was what the vision meant. Maybe Chris' true power was about to be born, but why had it taken so long to blossom?

The door bell rang snapping the older Lee out of her thoughts. Quickly she ascended the stairs out of her secret fireplace lair. Pulling the lever the door leading to the rest of the house opened just as Chris crashed into the nearby wall. He slumped to the ground and his attacker stepped into view.

She had green hair and blue eyes and she wore a business suit with a skirt. Her smile revealed vampiric looking teeth as she held Jody by the throat. The blonde teen struggled to break free, but her attacker's grip was too tight.

"Greed!" Ah-Mah yelled, "Let the girl go, she's not involved!"

Greed laughed evilly, "If you want her back Jasmine, you'll have to take her!"

The old Asian woman gritted her teeth as she stepped back into a fighting stance.

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Juniper and Ashley leapt away as Envy attacked, slamming his fist through the roof. He had dirty blonde hair and a wicked smile as he stood up. He looked just like any other teenager as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Come on ladies, show me what you got!" he yelled dashing forward, swinging at Ashley.

The blonde witch was a magic user, not a trained fighter. She fell backwards, just barely ducking under Envy's punch, but she was far from safe. The blonde haired Devil brought a punch down, cracking her across the jaw. It hurt so much she couldn't speak, effectively neutralizing her magic. All that was left was the muscle.

Juniper had seen enough. She grabbed Envy from behind and slammed him down face first into the roof. She then took hold of his flopping feet and spun around tossing him into the air. Leaping after him, she tackled him in mid-air sending the opponents crashing to the ground with a thud.

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Ah-Mah chanted and formed hand signs as her eyes began to glow. Greed smiled, watching the former Te Xuan Ze call up her magic. The room darkened as the light bulbs in the lamps shattered and streaks of electricity formed in the old woman's hands. Greed's smile faded when the ball of lightning hit her in the chest. She convulsed wildly, dropping Jody as she screamed. Taking the best chance she had, Ah-Mah leapt forward driving an elbow into Greed's chest sending her crashing through the front doors.

"Ah-Mah's still in this game!" the older Lee said clenching her fists in victory.

She didn't notice her second opponent until it was too late.

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Juniper punched and punched and punched, losing control of her temper. Envy still wore a smile on his bloodied face as the Asian teen continued her assault. Suddenly her fist stopped and her eyes went wide. She was looking down at Marcus.

"Got ya!" Envy yelled, catching her under the chin with an uppercut.

Staggering back, Juniper tried to attack again, but Marcus looked back at her. She couldn't attack him! Unfortunately Envy didn't have those same qualms. He grabbed her by the collar whipping her down into his knee. She wretched as he drove an elbow down on the back of her neck. The Te Xuan Ze collapsed to the ground desperately fighting off the daze.

Behind her, Ah-Mah fell to the ground. Her clothes were in tatters and her face was black and blue. From the shadows of the darkened house stepped Rage. Her blonde hair hid her face, but her glowing yellow eyes pierced through the darkness.

"Stop playing around," she ordered, "Get the girl and let's go!"

With that Rage leapt into the air and disappeared in a green flash. Envy looked over at Greed and smiled. He walked back into the house, threw Jody over his shoulder and then joined Greed. Holding hands the pair of Devils disappeared in a flash of light leaving Ah-Mah's house in ruins and the four warriors severely beaten.

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Ashley fell down the last bit of stairs and looked out through what was once the front door. Juniper and Ah-Mah lay unconscious in front of the house. As the blonde witch dragged herself to the door she saw Chris. His face was dirty and there was a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. She ran a hand along his cheek and smiled slightly. He was alive, so that was a plus. Suddenly his eyes shot open and he leapt to his feet.

He quickly searched for his enemy, but there were none to be found. Looking down he saw Ashley.

"What happened?" he demanded, "Where are they?"

The blonde witch could only shake her head. Chris turned searching for Juniper and Ah-Mah and…Jody.

"Jody?" he called worriedly, "Jody where are you?" He began to panic when he couldn't find her and then he tripped over her hoodie. It was stained in blood, "JODY!"

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Juniper awoke in Ah-Mah's bed. Reaching up to rub her head, she ran her hand along a tightly wrapped bandage. She couldn't remember how she got it, but she remembered Marcus…or something that looked like him. They fought and she lost…then there was nothing but darkness. She looked to her right and found Ah-Mah laid out wrapped in bandages too. Suddenly the door opened and in stepped Ashley. There was a big bruise on her cheek and her eyes were red and sore.

"Oh you're awake," she said, "I was worried."

Juniper looked back at her, "What happened?"

"We lost," Ashley explained.

That was all that had to be said. Once again the Devils had overpowered them, but there was something else. Something that Ashley wasn't telling her.

"Where are Chris and Jody?"

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Chris clung to Haku's horns tightly, "You have her scent?"

The dragon kept going, "Yes, but its faint, it may not be so easy to actually find her."

"I don't care!" Chris yelled, "We have to find her before those bastards can do anything to her!"

Haku began his descent over the wharf. Quickly he wormed his way through the processing factories, but the overpowering stench of rotting fish was masking Jody's own scent. He had lost her.

"She's here somewhere, Chris, but I don't think you should be doing this alone," the dragon explained setting down so his friend could begin his search on foot.

"There's no time to wait for June and the others, I have to do this alone," Chris explained.

His hands were wrapped in bandages and it felt like his skin was on fire. The angrier he got the worse his skin felt, but that wasn't important now. The only thing that mattered at this point was finding Jody and getting her away from the Devils. Haku lifted into the air again to continue his search as Chris disappeared in the shadows of the factories.

He had just finished his second factory when he heard the scream. He knew who it was right away. Setting off in a mad dash he found the same woman who had attacked him earlier.

"Greed!" he yelled clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

The green haired woman turned to greet him and revealed Jody. The blonde teen hung from the ceiling by chains wrapped tightly around her wrists. Someone had worked her over. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked up at Chris.

"Help…me…" she managed to say in a weak voice.

Greed didn't even see the attack coming. Chris was on her in the blink of an eye swinging with all of his might. His first punch floored Greed, but just as she looked up he brought his foot down in an axe kick. She barely dodged and his foot smashed through the wooden floor. Leaping to her feet, she spun right into a right hook and as she wobbled away he tackled her to the ground and grabbed her by the hair.

"I'll kill you!" he roared as he punched her hard enough to knock a tooth out.

He prepared to punch her again, but stopped suddenly. His skin was burning so badly, he thought he was actually on fire. Seeing her opening Greed clawed him across the face knocking his glasses away and tearing the flesh above and below his eyes. He backed away holding his face as he screamed in agony. The female Devil cringed in hatred as he continued to cry out in pain. Searching for a weapon she finally found a lead pipe. She could have easily finished him off with her bare hands, but she wanted to make it hurt… a lot!

She swung at his chest, cracking his ribs. The teen heaved as he bent over, coughing up blood. The pain was masked by the burning in his body. She swung again this time sending him rolling across the ground, landing at Jody's feet. Chris looked up and reached for her feet only to have the pipe come down on the back of his head. He was just barely conscious as Greed lifted him by the collar and turned his head to face Jody.

"You're such a predictable fool!" she yelled as Jody's face faded away to reveal Envy. "You know she's already dead and yet you came here thinking you could save her!"

Chris' eyes went wide as tears began to pour from his eyes. It couldn't be true, Jody couldn't be dead! No! And yet, he knew it somewhere in the back of his heart that the Devils didn't take prisoners.

He was thrown to the ground, screaming as he held his head. The burning got worse and worse. He couldn't breathe. Everything was happening again. He'd lost Jody the same way he'd lost his parents. But this time…this time he would make them pay!

Envy and Greed stood over him laughing. Suddenly a burst of flame sent Envy flying into the air. Looking back at Chris, Greed watched him rise to his feet. His pupils had disappeared and now his eyes burnt with raw, red power. The pain in his body was gone. All that was left was hatred for what these freaks had done to his life.

Greed screamed in terror as Chris grabbed her by the throat and began to squeeze. His hands burned with flame as he choked her and then tossed her through the brick wall. He then turned his attention back to Envy who backed away wide eyed as the teen's hands became pure flame.

"No mercy!" Chris yelled.

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Juniper and Ashley clung awkwardly to Haku as he flew them to the wharf. He knew Chris would be angry, but the dragon didn't want Chris to face off with the Devils alone. As the trio soared over the processing factories a roar rang out followed by a blast of flame.

Juniper knew who it was right away. Leaping from Haku she plummeted thirty feet and landed on her feet like it was nothing and set off searching for her half brother. As she rounded a corner Envy dropped right in front of her. He was badly beaten and his skin was raw from burns. Slowly his chest rose and fell taking shallow breaths.

"Chris?" Juniper asked searching for the bespectacled teen.

She entered the nearest factory and found him. He was standing alone in the center of the building. His hands still glowed from the fire he now controlled, but his head hung low. Steam poured from his eyes. His skin was so hot that tears evaporated on contact. Around him were the signs of a brutal fight and she had seen what had happened to Envy.

"Did you do all of this?" the Asian teen asked approaching him slowly.

He slowly looked up, "They killed Jody."

Suddenly Juniper understood full well what had happened. Tears ran down her cheeks at the thought. She and Jody had been friends since kindergarten and now…now she was gone. And for what? She had been killed for simply knowing them, because she was with them.

"I'm through playing by the rules June," Chris told her, breaking the silence, "When I find the others I'm going to kill them and there's nothing that will stop me. I have nothing left to lose now."

Juniper couldn't believe what she'd just heard, "Nothing to lose? What about me and our family? What about us?"

"You'll be better off without me," Chris explained as he walked through the door.

The Asian teen stood there, alone, lost in her thoughts. Everything had fallen apart. So much had happened in such a short period of time and now…it was over. The dream of being a hero was over. This wasn't a game! People were dying and there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing…

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Ashley ran after Chris. She had to know what had happened. Where was Jody? Why were his hands glowing like that?

"Chris!" she called as he disappeared in an alleyway. "Wait, Chris, please wait!"

She entered the alley and came face to face with him. He stood there looking over her and grimacing. His hands were still burning and the way he was looking at her, she was almost afraid of him.

"Go home Ashley," he said sternly.

She looked at him worriedly, "What happened?"

"Get away from me before you wind up dead to," and with that he turned and started walking away.

Ashley couldn't find her voice. Jody was…dead?

"Wait!" she yelled, "Where are you going?"

He didn't stop, he just kept walking away. He didn't look back, didn't make a sound and then…he was gone.

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Rage watched happily as Chris alienated himself from the others and walked away. The plan was working out perfectly.

"It's done," she said.

"Excellent," came a low voice, almost a whisper, "And now it is time for the next act."

Rage laughed as she and the blue haired teen entered a portal.

The teen turned around to look at Chris one last time, "You're playing right into my hands, little one, the same way your father did."

To Be Continued…

Is it true? Have I lost my mind and killed Jody? Well, it's more than likely. So, as the team stands fractured, what will happen next? Chris has walked away swearing vengeance against the Devils leaving June and Ashley to stand alone against the next attack. There are only two devils left and then…well I don't know, so you'll just have to keep reading.


	11. Haunted

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 11: Haunted

Juniper sat under the tree Chris always sat in, her knees to her chest, her mind ablaze with memories. Her mind still wouldn't comprehend that Jody was dead or that Chris had abandoned her. The dream was over. Her dream of having the perfect life had come crashing down all around her.

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Ray-Ray watched his sister from his room. He didn't know the full story, but Chris didn't come home and June and Ashley were beaten up. Something major must have gone down. Normally he would have asked why they had left him out and more, but there was something about the way the girls were acting. Whatever had happened, it must have been terrible.

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Ashley was curled up in the fetal position on the couch. She had failed to do the one thing she had sworn to do…protect her friends. The hate in Chris' eyes stuck out in her mind. He had been pushed over the edge and there was no coming back. She had the chance to stop him, she should have stopped him, but she let him walk out of her life. The next time they met, she would most likely have to fight him, but she wasn't sure she could.

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Chris walked alone through the night. He had wound up on the edge of Orchid Bay staring out over the ocean from a high cliff. He could throw himself over the edge and end it all right then and there. But then who would avenge Jody? Who would avenge his parents? June? She didn't have the heart for that kind of thing, she was too kind, too pure. That was why she deserved to be happy. And it was why he had to do it.

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Rage entered the dark room and looked around. It was a strange feeling for her, being afraid. It was something she had never felt before. She was different from the other Devils, the imposters. Legend says that all seven of the Devils were imprisoned by the Spirit of Vengeance, but only six of them actually were. Rage had roamed free since the beginning of time, but she was smart enough to not draw too much attention to herself. That was why she was still alive, still whole.

That didn't stop her master from finding her though. His name was Kale, an ancient that had stood against the will of the Magical Council. He looked like a teenager to give people a false sense of security and then when their guards were dropped he slaughtered them. But it was one of his pawns that turned against him and turned him into a fugitive. That pawn would some day become the father of a little boy named Chris. After he became a parent his skill faded and he became more vulnerable than he could ever know.

Kale had originally planned to strike by kidnapping the infant Chris, but instead chose to see how the boy would grow. If he would have any of his father's abilities, but it appeared he didn't, making him nothing more than a worthless human. Since Chris' father was the only being to ever defeat Kale, the man had to be taken out. Rage liked that part. It was men like Chris' father that had hunted her in the past, so when the time came to strike she made it as painful as possible. It looked like a car crash, but that's what magic does, it hides the truth.

Several years later Rage would reveal herself to Chris and start him on his life long quest for vengeance. Looking back on that now, it may not have been such a good idea. It turned out that the boy did inherit his father's power. His firecasting abilities took longer to blossom, but they were stronger than his father's had been at that age and when he mastered them, he would be a major force to be reckoned with. Now Kale wanted Chris to become his apprentice, to reshape the worlds. Both realms would be under his fist and no one would be able stand against him. That was what scared her. If Chris became Kale's right hand man, she wouldn't have a place, and the fact that she was the one that killed Chris' parents meant that she would be given to him to do with whatever he wanted. If that day ever came, she wouldn't go down without a fight.

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The raven haired teenager twirled her pink strand of hair as she looked out over the field. Chris had said that Jody was dead, but was there any real proof of that? Villains lied, that was what they did. But the conviction with which he had said it. He was so sure that she was dead…

"Chris…" Juniper said softly, clutching her fists and looking up into the blue sky.

In the clouds she could see him looking back at her. He wore a big a smile and waved…

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Chris turned and walked back to the tree line surrounding the sea cliffs. Her image was burnt into his mind. Jody…they had only been together for a matter of days and yet they had known each other for years. They had always been close and now…now she was just gone and Chris was all alone again.

"It's your fault, you know?" a voice came from behind him.

Chris spun, his eyes narrowing, his hands curling as flames erupted from them. In front of him stood a teenager with pink hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore a black tank top and a fishnet shirt over that. Her black, baggy pants were torn over the knees and a silver chain hung from her pocket. Her ears were covered in earrings and she wore black eyeliner over her purple eyes. She looked about two years younger than Chris.

"If you hadn't involved her she'd still be alive," the girl explained.

The bespectacled teen gritted his teeth as tears began to well up in his eyes. Who the hell did she think she was? The fire in his hands burnt even hotter.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked smirking, "You think you can end a life?"

Chris kept telling himself to do it, to fry her, but his body wouldn't listen. He wanted to kill her, he wanted to make her pay the same way he'd make Rage pay, but…

"When you're ready to face me I'll be waiting," the pink haired girl explained turning and walking through a portal.

Chris stood dumbfounded, staring at the portal and berating himself for not stopping her then and there, but the portal didn't close. She was challenging him. No, she was testing him! That was when he heard something behind him…

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Juniper's wrist band went off with an urgency she had never seen before. Scrambling from her seat she was greeted by Ashley and Haku.

"What do you think you're doing?" Juniper asked sternly.

"We're a team June," Ashley explained, "That means we stand together no matter what!"

The Asian teen shrugged and then leapt onto the dragon and the three of them flew into the air.

"What do we do if it's Chris?" the blonde girl asked.

Juniper bowed her head as she took a deep breath. She didn't want to fight him. She wasn't sure that she could.

"If it is him…" she started, her voice was low and raspy, "then we take him down the same way we would anyone else…"

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The air exploded with flame as Chris spun into the air kicking. These people had come from nowhere and there were a lot of them. He grabbed one of them as he threw a kick. Spinning, Chris tossed the man back at the others. He had started out the fight using his firecasting, but he soon realized that these people weren't attacking him by choice. The pink haired girl must have been Lust and she was controlling all of these people. For every one that Chris put down three more appeared.

"Stop this!" he yelled as two grabbed him from behind and a third punched him in the stomach.

For as angry as he was, for all the hate in his heart, he couldn't bring himself to hurt these people. It wasn't their fault, they were being controlled. There was another punch and another and then suddenly they let him go. He fell face first to the ground huffing and puffing and then slowly pulled himself up. They were waiting for something. What? Did they expect him to kill them? Is that what Lust was trying to get him to do? If that was the case he wouldn't give in. He couldn't, he would never take an innocent life…

The people backed away, making a path that lead straight to the portal where Lust was waiting for him. Cautiously, Chris made his way to the portal and then stepped through. He was going to make her pay for using these people!

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Juniper and the others arrived just as the portal closed. Chris was gone, but all of the people being controlled by Lust were still there, only…they had all collapsed. They weren't breathing, but at the same time they weren't dead. They were in suspended animation.

As Ashley and Juniper checked on all of the people, Haku searched for some sign of his young charge. As he neared the forest, he found scorch marks. He knew right away that it was Chris.

"Juniper!" the dragon yelled to the Te Xuan Ze, "He was here!"

The Asian teen walked over to the dragon and kneeled down next to the scorch marks, "So where did he go?"

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Lust stood in the magical realm waiting for Chris. They were in the Blazing Sands, a barren foreboding place where only the strongest of the strong could survive. There was sand in every direction for hundreds of miles and the sun beat down on that place harder than anywhere else.

The pink haired teen waited on one of the few rock formations in the region. The burning wind flowed through her hair and carried a scent on it. Chris had arrived. He started up the formation, walking along the path that Lust had cleared for him. This would be her final performance, she thought as he came into view.

"It's time to make your choice," she called out to him, "You live in a world where…"

She didn't finish. The burst of flame was small and precise, piercing through her shoulder. She felt like she had just been shot. There was another that went through her leg, splintering her knee cap, but she didn't cry out in pain.

"This is my penance," she said as Chris approached, "And now you must…"

"SHUT UP!" he yelled aiming another shot at her head.

Steam poured from his eyes, his skin burnt, his teeth gritted in furious anger. His eyes were bright red, the pupils had disappeared. Everything had been building up to this moment. The moment when he would be forced to make a choice. Something suddenly shot through his mind.

'Do it! Finish her! Make her pay for what she's done!'

Chris bowed his head and the muscles in his neck tensed up. The voice in his mind repeated over and over again, telling him to kill her, but he fought it. He wanted nothing more than to finish her, but…he couldn't! She was just an innocent being used as a host! If he killed her…

"It's alright," she said catching him completely off guard. "This is what I want, do it, end my misery."

His eyes went wide and his pupils reappeared. His body began to shudder as his hand shook violently. If he crossed this path he'd be no better than them! Where was Juniper? She promised him she wouldn't let him do this. She'd stop him before he went too far. June couldn't help him…he had pushed her away. He was on his own, the choice was his.

"Its okay, do it, give me the gift of nothingness," Lust said, using her pheromones to take control of his body and steady his aim back at her head.

A trickle of blood ran from Chris' nose as he fought her control. He wasn't like the others she had taken over. He was stronger with an iron will.

"I cannot control you, you must make the choice to do this yourself," she said, "You live in a world where you make your own choices."

"I can't do this!" Chris yelled, "I can't kill you!"

Lust looked directly into his eyes to reveal what he already knew, she wanted to die…

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Ashley tried spell after spell to reopen the portal, but nothing worked. It was an ancient kind of magic, one that was free of her power. After the fifth try she fell back and sat on the ground taking deep breaths. It was no use, without knowing exactly what spell was used she couldn't open the portal again.

Juniper crossed her arms as her mind started trying to piece together what had happened. Chris had been there and he'd been attacked by all of the people that were now laid out in suspended animation. Had he done that to them? She still couldn't believe that he had magical abilities in the first place. Firecasting? It was supposed to be an extinct art that died with his father. There was a moan behind her…

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"What are you doing?" Chris demanded watching through a view screen that Lust had called up.

One of her victims rose to his feet and began shaking. Chris' eyes went wide when his body exploded in a cloud of crimson mist and hunks of flesh.

"NO!" he yelled, his arm tightening up as he re-aimed it at her.

"I beg of you, kill me," Lust pleaded.

"No, I…" he was panicking, his breath came in shallow gasps, "I can't!

Another one stood up, this time it was a twelve year old boy. His body began to shake like the first one.

"Stop it!" Chris yelled, begging the girl to spare the life of someone he didn't even know.

"You have a choice, now make it!" Lust yelled.

The boy's body began to bulge and he started screaming in agony.

"You can stop me now or watch me kill all of them," she calmly explained. "This is what I want. A being like me cannot exist in a world like this. You can free me from this pain, this torture, you can save these people…now its time to make a choice!"

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Juniper couldn't get anywhere near the boy. His body was emitting so much heat that she could barely get close to him. Ashley froze in horror watching as the boy's skin began to crack. It was too late, he was going to die! Why was this happening? There had to be something that she could do to help him!

"NO!" Juniper yelled as the boy emitted a shriek of agony.

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Chris was terrified. He didn't know what to do, things were happening to fast! His body was trembling and his face showed the confusion, the pain, and the agony he was going through. Lust looked up at him through half opened eyes and smirked.

A single tear ran down his cheek.

There was one final blast of flame.

The pink haired girl fell back and didn't move again.

Chris looked up into the sky.

Then there was nothing but darkness.

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Juniper held the twelve year old boy in her arms as tears ran down her cheeks and splashed against his face. He was still alive, but just barely…whatever had saved him, somehow…somehow she just knew that it had come at a heavy cost.

Behind them stood Ashley. She hadn't been any help at all. She had frozen. What good was she if she panicked when it mattered most? Did Juniper even need her? She was a poor comparison to Chris…

There was a bright light over the area that had an ominous feel to it. Another portal had opened but nothing vicious leapt out, there was no enemy, just something falling through the air. A body. The familiar body of someone they once called a friend.

The bespectacled teen had passed out from the shock after his final encounter with the girl known as Lust. Slowly he came to rest on the ground between Juniper and Ashley. He didn't make a sound. He was so still, like the dead.

Both girls looked at each other and then back at him. The area was deathly silent. There were no sounds coming from the forest. No wind blew through the air. What had happened to him?

To be continued…

The end is near. Juniper will face her greatest challenge yet when she faces Rage for the last time. Ashley is forced to make a decision as to her future with the team. And what of Chris? Can he face himself after taking a life? All of this and more as the conclusion draws near.


	12. Forgiveness

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 12: Forgiveness

Juniper sat on the edge of his bed. It hurt to look at the boy she called her brother. She didn't know what to feel at this point. Looking over at him she felt something twist inside of her.

"What happened to you?" she asked wiping a tear away.

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It had been four days since the incident with Lust and there were a lot of questions. The biggest being where was Jody? What could Juniper possibly say? That Mr. and Mrs. Irwin's daughter was killed by centuries old demons? Yeah that would really fly…

"I assure you, Chris had nothing to do with your daughter's disappearance," Juniper's Dad explained to Mr. Irwin.

The blonde haired man looked hard at Juniper and then back at her father, "I know that, but…I just…"

He was starting to break down in tears. His daughter was everything to him, even though he had two. Jody was his little girl and now she was gone and he didn't know why. Mr. Lee helped Mr. Irwin to a seat and then sat down beside him.

"I know you think Chris might know something, but until he wakes up there's no way to uncover what he may or may not know," Mr. Lee explained.

Juniper walked towards the stairs, passing Ashley in the hallway. The blonde witch hadn't said much since they found Chris. Whatever she was going through, she obviously wanted to do it alone.

As the Asian teen climbed the stairs she tried to sort through everything that had happened in the last few days. Jody had been taken captive by the devils and…killed. Juniper still couldn't get her head around that. Jody was dead…

Shaking away the depression, she continued. Chris personally took down Greed and Envy, but he didn't kill them. The hosts had severe burns, but they would pull through. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Lust. Juniper and her Grandmother had used a spell to replay the events that had happened and they were shocked to find that Chris had taken the girl's life. But it had come at a heavy cost. Chris had always believed he would avenge his parents by killing the woman who had killed them, but underneath that gruff exterior was the heart of a lost little boy who just wanted his parents back. Juniper had always suspected that he wouldn't be able to kill, even if given the chance. She wished that she had been wrong…

The thought pounded through her mind. He had killed Lust to save the lives of all those people…did that justify what he had done? Was killing ever the right thing to do? Chris obviously didn't think so…his catatonic state was proof of that. The stress and the shock that came from killing Lust had been too much for him and his body had shut itself down.

There was a silver lining that came with his condition, however. The police had named Chris as the prime suspect for Jody's disappearance, but when he was found, covered in injuries and in a state of catatonia he was instantly cleared. The police psychologist said his condition was caused by something he had seen and they assumed it was something pertaining to Jody. It wasn't much of a blessing, but at least now he wasn't being blamed for his girlfriend's disappearance.

Now there was only one devil left to deal with. Rage, the most powerful of the group and the most unpredictable. The blonde haired demon was lurking out there right now doing God knows what. Four lives had already been ruined because of that woman! Clenching her fists tight, Juniper swore she would make Rage pay no matter what the cost.

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Ashley stood in the door way watching him. His chest would slowly rise and fall, but that was the only movement he made. His head was tightly wrapped in a bandage, as were his arms and chest. The areas that were visible revealed something that only Juniper and Ah-Mah knew about…his scars. He had never mentioned them to anyone, not even Jody. It raised a lot of questions about his character, but no one wanted to ask how he got them.

The blonde witch walked over to his side and looked down into his face. He looked different without his glasses. She had never seen him without them…or without a grimace on his face. He looked peaceful in a sick sort of way. Softly, she ran a hand along a jagged scar over his heart. He was always so gruff and tumble and yet these scars betrayed the truth. He was a guardian, a protector and he had gotten all of these protecting the people and creatures from each other.

A tear ran down her cheek and splashed on his chest. She didn't deserve to be here with him. She wasn't good enough to fight alongside Juniper and Chris. Unlike the two of them, she wasn't willing to sacrifice her body, she had too many attachments to this world. As she got up and walked to the door a thought occurred…

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Ray-Ray sat on the porch with Monroe. The pair watched the clouds in the sky letting their minds wander. Anything was better than just sitting there letting themselves fall into despair. The twelve year old had never been intimate with death. Chris' parents had died before Ray-Ray really got a chance to know them, but Monroe…he'd been around for five hundred years. He'd watched several Te Xuan Ze fight and grow old until eventually passing away. He had even seen one or two killed in action, but that was different. They weren't children, they knew the risks…they worked alone.

Juniper and Chris may have been teenagers, but they were still just children. They never should have been thrown into this kind of responsibility. Now, an innocent girl, one who had no magical abilities whatsoever had been killed. This wasn't fair…it wasn't right! They shouldn't have been expected to deal with this. They should have been preoccupied with what college they were going to, who they were taking to homecoming, teenager things, not world saving responsibilities.

"So now what happens?" Ray-Ray asked scratching the pug behind the ears.

Monroe's leg hopped up and down in response, "I don't know, lad…I just don't know."

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It had been a full week since the incident with Lust. The police continued to search for Jody, the Irwin's never gave up hope, and Juniper just sat back and watched it all happen as she fed them false hope. Ashley had become even more private, rarely leaving her room. She had been casting all manner of spells, but no one knew what she was really up to. Chris hadn't shown any signs of waking up until one night…

Juniper sat at the foot of his bed watching him. She didn't know what else to do. She had big black bags under her eyes and her head was fuzzy. Too many sleepless nights and too many nightmares when she did get to sleep. At school things had been a lot worse than usual. People would snicker at her behind her back, Chris' locker had been trashed with graffiti all over it saying he was a killer and a monster. Even things with Marcus had fallen apart.

Ophelia and Roger stood by Juniper no matter what, but it wasn't enough. She really liked Marcus and he had walked away from her. He didn't know what to think and because of that he didn't think that he should be with her. That was the final straw. Juniper couldn't take anymore. When he said that she broke down in tears, crying her lungs out. That had been Thursday afternoon, she hadn't been back since.

Getting up, she walked over to the side of his bed and kneeled down, resting her elbows next to him. Juniper kneeled there looking at his eyes, praying he would wake up…

Slowly his eyelids pulled back to reveal his deep green eyes. Juniper didn't know if she was dreaming or not, but she pulled back in surprise.

He reached up pulling the blankets away and sat up. Groggily he yawned and wiped his eyes. Then he turned his head to look at her and a puzzled look crossed his face.

"You….you're a…you're awake!" Juniper yelled

He didn't respond, he just sat there looking at her like a lost puppy. He didn't know where he was, what had happened, anything.

"Hang on, I'll be right back!" she told him bolting for the door.

Inside that dark room he could hear her yelling to everyone that he was awake. Then there was a thunderous noise as people came bounding up the stairs. The first into his room was Mr. Lee, his adoptive father. This had been the second time Mr. Lee had taken care of Chris. The first was right after his parents' funeral. Next came Ray-Ray and Mrs. Lee, followed by Juniper, Ophelia, and Roger. The Irwins were the last to come up the stairs and they were very cautious about entering Chris' room.

Questions came from every direction. Everyone was basically asking the exact same thing, but through all of the chaos, Chris kept his eyes on the Irwins. What did they think of him? What could he possibly say to them?

"Chris?" Ray-Ray asked and surprisingly enough, the room went silent.

The battered teen looked down at his little brother, but didn't say a word. He couldn't find his voice and even if he could, what could he say?

"I'm happy you're awake," the twelve year old finished.

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Chris had been awake for close to two hours before he was allowed to be alone. In that time he hadn't said one word. It appeared he was still in shock, but that simply wasn't the case. He had said more with silence than he ever could have with words.

Juniper walked back up to his room with a bowl of soup hoping he was up to eating when she stopped. Just outside of his door she could hear him. He was making a low noise that erupted into a full scream of torture. The whole house rocked with his wail and then there was nothing, but a whimper. The Asian teen leaned back against the door listening to him.

The bespectacled teen was hunched over his knees, holding his head. The scene kept playing over and over again in his head. That little smirk and then…she fell back, dead, but her face still wore that smile. She had wanted this, she wanted to die…and she had used Chris to do it. He always said he would have his revenge, but the truth was…he wasn't sure if he could do it. From a very early age his parents had taught him how precious life was. It was something to be protected! Now that he had murdered someone…he was tainted. A failure! He had disgraced everything his parents stood for. He was going to kill in their name, but he hadn't even spoken to them since the day they died. He was a fool, a self righteous fool…

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A few days had passed since Chris awoke and things had taken a slight return to normalcy. Nights were very hard because he could never sleep, but during the day he would walk around the house, go outside and sit under his tree, his usual routine. However, he never trained, he rarely spoke, didn't eat, and he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with anyone, not even Juniper. He often chose to be alone rather than have company.

Orchid Bay High had excused him from his studies because of his condition, not that it mattered. He was one of the smartest kids in the school. It was decided he wasn't allowed to leave the house because Mr. Lee was afraid he'd be the target of abuse by his fellow students. The newspapers had finally stopped calling and the last of the photographers had left after getting their fill of pictures. No one called him a killer, there were no articles claiming he had done anything wrong, and yet…it didn't need to be said. People made up their own minds. Until something about Jody came out, he would always be a target.

Ray-Ray couldn't believe all that had happened. Even after Juniper had explained why Chris was acting so different, he couldn't grasp it. Chris had changed. His usual spiky hair hung low, flat against his head. He didn't wear his glasses anymore, too afraid to see what was around him. It was scary to see him like this.

Everyone tried to cheer him up. Roger, one of the few people who could get Chris to laugh, couldn't even get him to watch. Ophelia tried to talk to him about how it feels to lose someone you love, using her experience with her grandmother as an example, but she knew that wouldn't work. Even Ah-Mah tried to help him, but…she didn't know what to say. Years ago, when she was in her thirties, she too had been faced with just such an incident. Like Chris, she too had failed.

One day Ashley, who had started becoming more sociable again, walked into Juniper's room and sat down next to her.

"I have some good news and some better news," she said shaking Juniper out of her thoughts.

The Asian teen sat up straight and bowed her head while she crossed her fingers, "We could really use some."

The blonde witch's eyes sparkled as she began, "I think I know what really happened to Jody…"

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The normally bespectacled teen was, unusually, up in his tree, sitting on the highest most branch watching the sunset. He was humming a tune, the same one Jody had taught him, and oddly enough he was thinking about her and not depressed. He still hurt and he was deeply depressed that she was gone, but somehow when he was humming that tune…he felt better.

'No matter what, I promise I will always come back to you.'

His promise to her. Why hadn't he been stronger? If they hadn't beaten him at the house, she never would have been taken! Suddenly, he was feeling more miserable than usual. He couldn't help his parents, he couldn't protect Jody, he couldn't do anything! He was worthless. The world would be better off without him.

"This world doesn't need something like me," he declared.

"Oh you've got that right!" came a sinisterly familiar voice.

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Juniper was on her feet the instant she heard it. Before Ashley could blink, the Asian teen was out the door and down the stairs. The blast had come from behind the house… right where Chris was! If anything had happened to him she'd never forgive herself!

Literally tearing through the back door, she found Rage holding Chris by the collar. That disgusting smile and her yellow eyes brought out a roar of furious hatred as Juniper leapt at her knocking the woman off her feet. Chris fell to the ground as his sister pounded on Rage. The teen had never shown this side of herself before, but then again, she had never been this angry at anyone before. One punch to the face another to the gut and another still to the side of the head. Juniper swung with all her might and actually managed to draw blood from Rage.

"Enough!" the blonde woman yelled catching Juniper's next hit.

Rage's speed was unbelievable! Before Juniper knew what was happening she was upside down and flying through the air. She didn't even get a chance to hit the ground before Rage made her next attack, catching Juniper by the foot and tossing her at Chris' tree.

The Asian teen collided with the tree with so much force she coughed up blood and then slumped to the ground. Her vision was hazy and her whole body hurt, but she wasn't about to give up yet! As Rage charged in for her next attack Juniper stomped her foot. She stomped with so much strength, the ground shook knocking her opponent off balance. Rage looked up just as Juniper threw a roundhouse kick.

The devil bounced along the ground and slammed into the fence surrounding the back yard. Juniper stepped back into a ready stance as Rage picked herself up from under the fallen fence.

"You think you're so cute, don't you?" Rage screamed holding her hands up.

Her eyes turned green and bolts of energy formed in her hands. Behind her shards of the fence floated into the air and aimed the sharp edges at Juniper. The teen's eyes went wide as piece after piece of the fence flew at her at top speed. She barely dodged the first two, but she was hit in the leg with the third. The piece of sharpened wood embedded itself deep in her thigh causing her to fall to her knees. She clenched her eyes tight as the rest of the fence flew at her.

"POTS!"

Opening her eyes, Juniper saw that the fence pieces had stopped just inches from her. They were suspended in mid air all around her. From out of the house stepped Ashley. She was furious and it showed in her next spell.

"NRUB!" the blonde witch yelled directing her spell at Rage.

The devil's arms suddenly became engulfed in flame. She spun around screaming in agony, but she didn't know what pain was…not yet! Juniper pulled the shard of fence from her leg and threw it back at Rage with all her might. It just barely missed, but the devil hadn't seen Juniper right behind her projectile. The blonde devil stepped right into an uppercut that cracked her ribs and as she fell to her knees, still ablaze, Juniper decked her with a hook punch to the jaw.

They were winning! All they had to do now was hold her down long enough for the spirit of rage to be drained from the host body. Ashley was at her side in a flash, holding the final containment jar over Rage's body, but…something was wrong! Nothing was happening!

"Um, what the hell is…?" Juniper asked before being batted away.

Rage stood up, knocking the jar from Ashley's hands, and then grabbed the witch by the throat, lifting her into the air.

"Let's see you use your spells now!" Rage screeched.

Chris looked up at his friends as they fought the final devil. Even though they didn't stand a chance they still fought. They didn't know whether they would win or be killed, but it didn't matter, because they wouldn't go down without a fight. Is that what he was missing? Is that what it truly meant to be a hero? Everybody made mistakes, but they learned from them and they never gave up.

Without Jody, Chris had given up. He thought he couldn't go on living without her. He was ready to just lay down and die and yet…his friends stood by him. They were even trying to save his life when he was so willing to throw it away!

Ashley's vision started to get dark and she could hear her neck popping as Rage's grip grew even tighter. She tried to speak, to get a spell out, but nothing happened. She was going to die…A burst of flame, small and precise shot through the air and tore through Rage's arm releasing Ashley.

"Never again!" Chris yelled running at Rage.

The woman backed away in terror as the firecaster charged her. His hands burst into flames as he approached. Suddenly Rage's footing gave out. Her knees had buckled, but what?

Juniper rolled away as Chris threw everything he had into this one punch. He was completely engulfed in flames and no longer running. He was soaring just above the ground and picking up speed!

Just before his punch connected a vision appeared before him and a smile crossed his face. There they were, his parents…they reached for him and threw him towards Rage. He was now moving so fast that there was nothing but an orange blur. Ashley and Juniper looked up just as his punch connected.

Rage was sent flying into the air, but she wasn't alone. Chris was right behind her and as she reached the top of her arc, he was there to greet her with a kick that sent her careening back down to the ground.

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The impact from Rage left a gigantic hole in the middle of the field out back from Juniper's house. Laid out in the center was Rage. Chris floated down beside her and reverted back to his human form. He glared at her making her think he was going to kill her, but then suddenly and without warning he turned away from her and walked away.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "Kill me!"

Chris stopped and looked over his shoulder, "You're not worth it…besides, now it's a fair fight!"

Rage gave a puzzled look as Juniper threw an uppercut sending her into the air. She crashed and rolled along the ground looking up as Juniper leapt out of the impact crater. Rage's body was beaten and battered. Her left arm was completely shattered and her ribs were cracked. Breathing was difficult, but she could still handle one magically imbued human! Raising her hand to fire a burst of energy she suddenly realized why Chris had said it was a fair fight!

Juniper threw a reverse punch smashing into Rage's face and sending her to the ground, "What's wrong? Can't fight without your powers?"

Rage rolled away as Juniper brought her foot down where Rage's head would have been. She couldn't win this! She realized that as Juniper grabbed her by the throat and whipped her face first to the ground. Rising once more, Rage barely blocked Juniper's next hit, but she missed the teen's kick and staggered back trying to catch her breath. It didn't matter. She was done, defeated and powerless. Juniper grabbed the devil by her throat and raised her other hand ready to deliver the finishing blow.

Rage looked up at the girl in terror. She had never been defeated, never felt so useless! She was pathetic! And Juniper saw that. Huffing, the Asian teen let Rage fall from her grip and stepped back. Ashley walked up holding the containment jar and Chris came up from behind surrounding the defeated devil.

"That won't hold me," Rage blurted out, "I'll be back!"

"No, you won't," came a new voice.

The teens stepped away to reveal Ah-Mah and Monroe. The older Lee held a book in her hands and began chanting, only it wasn't a spell, it was a prayer. The sky grew darker and lightning shot through the air. Suddenly the black clouds parted and a beam of white light came down, settling above the group. Just above them, a white skinned being dressed in black armor with a red cross on its breast plate appeared.

Rage began to tremble as she recognized who they had summoned. She pleaded for mercy as the being came to rest on the ground. The teens stepped back as the black armored being looked around at them. Looking directly at Ah-Mah it nodded its head and then grabbed Rage by the wrist. She screamed in agony and in utter terror as the black armor opened up. The light shining out was too bright for anyone too look at and they all turned away, but they could still hear her screams as she was drawn into the armor. And then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over. The light from the clouds retracted taking the armored being with it and when it disappeared, the sky turned back to its normal color.

"And that, my dear children, is that," Ah-Mah stated walking back to the house.

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Ashley used her magic to fix everything and erase the memories of anyone who had seen what happened while Ah-Mah spoke to Chris alone. Juniper sat on the couch watching her grandmother and adopted brother speak while Ray-Ray wrapped her leg in a bandage.

She couldn't believe it was really over. The devils had all been sealed away. But it wasn't really over, she reminded herself. Kale was still out there and if what Ashley had told her was true, the worst was yet to come.

Chris hugged Ah-Mah and then turned and walked back to Juniper and Ray-Ray. He rubbed his hand through Ray-Ray's hair in a brotherly fashion and then sat down across from Juniper. He was looking better, but he still had all of his bandages. At least he was smiling again.

"June, Ray-Ray," he said calmly, "Thank you. If it hadn't been for you two…I don't know what I would have done without you." They smiled back at him and Juniper was about to say something when he started again, "I owe you guys my life and a lot more. I don't want anything bad to ever happen to you…and that's why I have to do this next part on my own."

Juniper shot up, "No! Wherever you go I go! We're a team Chris, you know that!"

Calmly, he stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. Suddenly she was pressed against his chest in a hug. Her arms hung limp at her sides and her eyes were wide with surprise.

"I have to be alone for a while," he explained, "But don't worry…this time I'm coming back."

With that he released her from his grip and smiled. He put his hand on Ray-Ray's shoulder and told him to look after his big sister and then he turned and walked out the door. Outside he said his goodbyes with Ashley and walked away. He disappeared at the top of the hill leaving Juniper and Ray-Ray behind as he went to face his destiny. It was time to end this once and for all.

Ah-Mah walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Slowly, she explained what she had told Chris and things started to become clear. He was going to finish what his father began all those years ago. He was going to stop Kale from merging the worlds of man and magic.

Juniper looked out the window after her brother, sure for the first time in a long time that everything was going to be okay. He always kept his promises…

To be concluded…

Well folks this is it. The Seven Devils have been sealed away. Juniper and Ray-Ray saved their brother from himself and Ashley has uncovered something about Jody, but what? Will life actually return to normal for the Lee family?

All of this and more in senses shattering conclusion of Life, Love, & Regret.


	13. Under the Sky So Blue

Love, Life, & Regret

Chapter 13: Under the Sky So Blue

Juniper awoke to the smell of bacon wafting through the air. She rubbed her eyes and yawned stepping out of bed and reaching into air, stretching her back. It had been a long, long night.

Carefully she pulled on her jeans and her familiar green t-shirt. Limping down the stairs, she was greeted by what had become a welcome sight. Ashley was wearing her apron and flipping some eggs while Ray-Ray chewed his pancakes. The Asian teen couldn't help but smile at that.

"Good morning, June," Ashley happily chimed in as she set down a plate with bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

"Thanks Ash," Juniper replied, picking at her meal.

The same question was on everyone's mind…had anyone heard from Chris? He had been gone for several days now. Ah-Mah and Ashley had used a spell that would keep his disappearance hidden. Mr. and Mrs. Lee would see him even though nothing was really there the same way anyone who expected to see him would. It kept them from asking questions and it was easier than creating a body double.

The sky outside was crystal clear, not a cloud in the sky. It was one of those rare, perfect days. They were too few and far between. It was a day for new beginnings…

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The portal to the magical realm had dropped him back in the Blazing Sands. This place held horrible memories for him. The life he had taken…he couldn't forget her face, that look. Of all the scars he carried, she was the worst. Could he ever truly be forgiven for killing Lust? It was a question of morality. If he hadn't taken the pink haired girl's life, she would have killed all of those innocent people and yet… there had to have been another way to stop her, he just hadn't seen it in time.

He couldn't change the past. He couldn't bring her back and allowing despair to overwhelm him wouldn't do any good. Kale was still out there and as long as he was free to do as he pleased more innocent lives would be lost.

"I won't let that happen," Chris sternly declared taking the first step on the long road to recovery.

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Ray-Ray watched his sister and Ashley. It was funny, Juniper had started out hating Ashley and now…they were practically friends. A lot had happened to them in the past several weeks. The past that had haunted Chris had finally come to settle the score. The Seven Deadly Sins better known as the Seven Devils had been loosed upon the world once more. Rage, Lust, Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, and Vanity. One by one they had appeared and challenged Juniper and her team under the lead of a mystery man with blue hair.

Jody discovered for the first time why Juniper and Chris were always running off and calling off plans. Chris and Jody had begun dating. He even introduced her to the world of magic and to his dragon friend, Haku. Unfortunately, she had become a target because of her exposure to the truth. In all likeliness, she would have been a target whether she knew the truth or not. However, no one could have foreseen what came next.

Greed and Envy attacked, kidnapping Jody. When Chris caught up with them things took a turn for the worse. Convinced she had been killed, he gave into his despair. The grief from the loss of his parents, the hatred for the woman who had taken their lives, and now the desperation of losing Jody gave way to the birth of an art long thought extinct. Firecasting was in Chris' blood, literally. A genetic trait handed down from generation to generation, much like the role of the Te Xuan Ze was in the Lee family.

Using his newfound powers Chris broke away from his adopted family and set out to finish things his way. Juniper and Ashley could only sit idly by while he destroyed himself. In the end, it was the unforgivable act of taking a life that showed Chris the error of his ways. After spending nearly a week in a catatonic state, he awoke to find his friends and family still standing behind him.

Now all that remained were the loose ends. Ray-Ray stood and ran after Juniper and Ashley. Despite Chris' wishes they had decided to go after him.

"You coming Ray-Ray?" Juniper asked offering the twelve year old a hand onto the white scaled dragon.

A big smile crossed the youngest Lee's face as he grabbed his sister's hand and pulled himself aboard.

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He had been walking for hours. There were no visible landmarks around, just lots and lots of sand and yet somehow he knew he was going in the right direction. The burning sun flashed off his glasses as he looked up into the sky taking deep breaths. The rags he wore as a cloak and shield from the sand whipped against his body. His hair fluttered as a gust of hot air washed over him. He was close now, just a bit farther.

What would he say when he met up with this man Kale? Would there be anything worth saying? Though Rage had been the one to do the deed, Kale was the man who ordered Chris' parent's death. The blue haired man was taking revenge for what Chris' father had done.

The bespectacled teen topped another dune and stopped. His eyes adjusted as something came into view. A building of some kind. It was the perfect hide away out here in the middle of nowhere. He took a deep breath and then picked himself up. It was time to finish this.

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The building was actually just a large metallic dome. A door suddenly appeared and slid open showing Chris the way in. Inside he shook himself free of the sand. There were no other doors beyond that one barren room. Looking around another door suddenly appeared and lead him into another room much like the first. The pattern continued as doors mysteriously opened leading him into adjacent rooms until he was brought to a wide room with green grass and a blue sky. It was a perfectly preserved artificial environment, but not what Chris had been expecting.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a voice came from behind.

He turned to come face to face with the blue haired teen he had fought at the factory. That seemed like an eternity ago as he looked hard at the person standing in front of him.

"You've had a long journey, why don't you have a seat, take a load off?" Kale offered in a strangely kind voice.

Chris obliged walking over to a steel patio table and pulling back the chair. Set out in front of him was a pitcher of ice cold water and two glasses. Carefully he poured a glass for himself and pulled it to his dry lips. It burned his parched throat as it slid down, but at the same time it was the sweetest drink he had ever tasted.

"Do you know who I am?" Kale asked sitting down across from Chris.

The bespectacled teen looked at him over the top of his glasses, but didn't answer.

"If I was to tell you I could make the perfect world, one where there was no war, no poverty, no disease, one where you could be reunited with your parents, what would you say? Would you take me up on my offer?" the blue haired teen continued.

Chris stood and pulled off his ragged cloak, "I'd tell you to take your offer and shove it. Your "perfect" world is one where you rule. No one stands against you and anyone that does is killed. Your peace is as fake as your compassion."

Kale sighed and bowed his head, "You're just as foolish as your father was."

The bespectacled teen reached into his pocket pulling out two black fingerless gloves with strips of metal on the back, "My father was a great man who did what was right." He finished, tightening the gloves on his hands.

"And yet he's the one that's dead," Kale retorted trying to get a rise out of the young firecaster.

"You didn't have the courage to face him yourself, you had to send someone else to kill him for you," Chris came back stepping back into a fighting stance.

"Let's hope you're better at this than your father," Kale stated mimicking Chris.

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Haku soared through the air with the kids hanging from his back. There was no sign of Chris anywhere. Juniper wiped her forehead as they passed over the rock formation where Chris and Lust had met for the first and last time. Why would anyone come to this place? It was what they were all thinking. The Blazing Sands were as dry as a politician's heart.

"What are we doing here?" Ray-Ray finally blurted out breaking the silence.

Ashley slid up behind him resting her head on his shoulder, "We're looking for Chris and Jody."

He almost missed that last part, "What? What do you mean looking for Jody? I thought she was…you know…"

"Dead?" Juniper asked piping in, "We all did, but Ashley found something pretty interesting, didn't you Ash?"

The blonde witch giggled slightly, something she hadn't done in a long time, "When someone dies their spirit does one of two things. It either goes to be judged or, if the person died tragically and without reason, stays on Earth as a ghost. Jody would have been one of those ghosts that was stuck on Earth and therefore I should have been able to contact her."

Ray-Ray let all that sink in as Haku sailed closer to the ground, avoiding the massive heat drafts or at least trying to.

"So wait, if you couldn't find her then…" he started.

"It means she's still alive," Juniper finished.

Ashley wanted them to think that, but she had to tell the whole story, "Or it means she's already gone ahead to be judged."

Juniper bowed her head. She didn't want that to be true. She knew it couldn't be the truth. Jody had to be alive, she just had to be!

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Chris dove away as Kale swung. He remembered how strong the blue haired teen was. Their first fight had shown that Kale had rock hard skin and enough strength to crush a boulder with his bare hands.

Leaping into the air, flipping over his attacker's head, Chris drove his knee into Kale's tailbone as hard as he could. The result was anything but what he expected. His leg throbbed as Kale laughed, turning to face him. Every inch of his body was solid muscle and hitting that felt like punching steel.

"Not off to a very good start are we?" Kale asked resting his hand on Chris' shoulder.

Suddenly the blue haired teen whipped Chris up into the air and slammed him back down into the ground. Chris hit with so much force he couldn't breathe. Before he had a chance to catch his breath Kale kicked him like a football sending him crashing to ground several feet away.

"You disappoint me boy," Kale continued, popping his knuckles as he approached, "at least your father made me sweat!" He yelled throwing a punch.

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Haku continued flying, following his nose in the same direction Chris had gone. He couldn't believe that boy had gone after Kale alone. After their first encounter he should have known better! Then again…patience was never Chris' strong suit. He was built for fighting, for righting wrongs, the same way his father was.

"Hey what's that?" Ray-Ray shouted snapping the dragon out of his thoughts.

It was a giant dome, but what was it doing way out there in the middle of nowhere? Wasn't it obvious? Haku dove down and landed next to the metallic structure.

"Chris is inside," he stated searching for a way in.

The kids looked up at him puzzled, "And you know this how exactly?"

The white scaled dragon turned to face them, "It's my duty to know where he is."

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Kale couldn't believe it! It couldn't be possible! Chris was on his knees, holding Kale's last punch.

"You wanna sweat huh?" the bespectacled teen asked through gritted teeth. His eyes began to glow as Kale's hand began to burn, "Your wish…is my command!"

Kale cringed in pain as his hand burned. It had been a long time since he had felt pain, especially this kind of pain. It was a reminder of his failure, his defeat!

Chris stood over his blue haired opponent, his hands ablaze. Slowly he reached up and pulled off his glasses, tossing them aside as Kale rose to his feet. This was going to be fun!

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The same door that Chris had entered through, reappeared. Cautiously, Juniper entered followed by Ashley. Ray-Ray had stayed outside with Haku, but he wasn't happy about it.

As the girls made their way through the same path Chris had taken they began to hear yells and explosions. What had been a cautious effort now became one of feverish search. Running through room after room they finally came across one that was different from all the others. The only light was a red glow emanating from a control panel across from a thick metal door. The same kind of door one would expect to find in a dungeon.

Throwing caution to the wind, Juniper dashed to the door peering through the small barred window. It was too dark to see what was inside, but somehow she already knew what to expect.

Ashley studied the control panel quickly as another thunderous explosion rocked through the air. There was toggle switch under the word release. Quickly flipping it the metal door made a snapping sound and flung itself open.

The red light made it hard to make out who or what was within the cell, but the moan that escaped was familiar.

Tears poured from Juniper's eyes as she looked on in shock, "Jody?"

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Another wall gave way as two figures fell through. Their hands were at each other's throats as they landed and then rolled apart. Kale was taking deep breaths as he eyed his opponent. His blue hair was covered in dirt and his face was bloody from a gash on his cheek. Across from him Chris stood with a smile. His clothes were torn, revealing the numerous scars speckling his body, and blood ran down his face from a cut on his forehead.

Neither spoke, they just charged each other. Chris threw a fireball just as Kale leapt into the air. There was no time to block as Kale brought his foot down in Chris' face sending the firecaster crashing to the ground. He was on his hands and knees taking deep breaths. Looking up he wiped the blood from his mouth and stood once more.

In the room they had just exploded out from, the grass burned and the blue sky was now filled with thick black smoke. The perfect artificial environment had been ruined. Kale watched as it burned and then turned his gaze back to Chris just as the firecaster swung with a burning hook punch.

Kale was caught square in the chin and spun with the punch, but before Chris could make his next move Kale tackled him slamming him against the next wall. They punched and kicked, wailing away on each other until Chris caught Kale off guard with an uppercut. The blue haired teen doubled over just as Chris brought his elbow down on the back of his neck.

Floored, Kale huffed and puffed blowing dirt and dust into the air. He couldn't be beaten again, not by the same family! No! If he was going to die this day, he wouldn't go alone! This brat would die with him!

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The golden haired teen fell out of the darkness and into Juniper's arms. She was filthy. Her hair was matted down, her clothes cut to ribbons, her face covered in dirt and grime and yet even with all of that, she still managed to crack a smile. The tears stung as they ran down her cheeks. Her red eyes shined with hope as Ashley and Juniper helped her to her feet. Hanging her from their shoulders the girls began running to get out of there. Another explosion rocked the compound but this one was different. The roof above their heads shook as dirt fell from it. The dome was going to come down, there was no telling how much time they had left!

Running at full speed now, carrying Jody just an inch above the ground they ran back the way they came only to find rubble and debris blocking their path. Frantically they searched for another way out, running back towards the dungeons when they came across a hole in a wall leading to what was once a lush garden.

The grass was burning filling the air with thick black smoke. Suddenly they saw him. That blue hair! It was him the one who had done all of this. He turned to face them with a wicked smile leveling his hands at them. The girls froze as he was about to fire, but nothing happened. Slowly opening their eyes they saw a most welcome sight.

"Chris!" they all yelled in unison.

He threw an uppercut into Kale's stomach lifting the blue haired tyrant off the ground and then threw a left hook sending Kale into a spin. Kale couldn't get his bearings, turning right into another hook punch that sent him reeling back into one of the few remaining walls. Chris charged up to him and continued to pummel the blue haired teen until he slumped to the ground, gurgling in an inaudible sound. He was finished.

Turning to face his friends, Chris froze when his gaze met with Jody. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. He just stared at her for what felt like an eternity until a loud explosion knocked him from his daze. Looking up, he dove out of the way just as a section of the dome came crashing down.

"Go, get outta here!" he yelled as another explosion went off followed by another and another.

Jody somehow found the strength to stand on her own, "Not without you!"

"GO!" Chris yelled in response turning and running back towards Kale.

Juniper fought with her heart as she made the decision to follow Chris' orders. Jody kicked and wriggled screaming as she was dragged away from her boyfriend. They couldn't just leave him! That whole place was coming down!

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Kale's vision cleared as Chris approached him. The firecaster kneeled down in front of the tyrant and looked into his eyes.

"I'm nothing like you," Chris stated, "I never will be."

Kale just laughed, "You won't have a chance to be anything!"

Another explosion rocked the compound bringing down debris over the exit! The only way out was now completely blocked off!

"My conscience is clean. I won't kill you, butI don't have to save you," and with that Chris turned and walked to the exit as a blast of fire erupted from the ground completely swallowing him.

Kale's laughter was the only thing that could be heard as the entire dome finally went up in a massive explosion.

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Haku tumbled through the air wildly as his passengers clung desperately to him. They had just barely gotten enough distance between themselves and the dome when it exploded. The dragon did his best to gain control, but it was to no avail as he came crashing down into the sand. He didn't move from his crash position. He was unconscious leaving the group to themselves while they waited for him to awaken.

Of course that didn't pan out. The instant she was on the ground Jody was screaming at the top of her lungs, begging for Chris to come back. Juniper just stood in the sand looking back at what was once the dome. Now it was nothing but a distant memory. Black smoke poured from the rubble of the structure as she watched it. There was nothing she could have done, was there? Chris had gone back by choice.

Ashley held Ray-Ray in her arms as she looked into the distance. No one could have survived that explosion. The thought kept pounding in her head. Even if Chris had somehow managed to escape from the structure he never could have cleared the shockwave. It seemed like he was really gone this time…

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It had been several hours since the explosion and Haku still hadn't come around yet. He had started to stir, but then nothing. The crash must have been a lot worse than they originally thought. The burning sun had finally set and now they were stuck there in the middle of the Blazing Sands with no food, no water, and no way out.

Jody had finally calmed down, but she couldn't stop sobbing. For an instant she was back with him and then just as fast he was gone. Slowly she rose to her feet and took several steps so she was out of range of the others. The moon above her lit her path with blue light. When she was far enough away from the others, Jody collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands.

"You lied to me," she said between weeps, "you promised me! You swore you would always come back to me!"

"And I always will."

Jody shot up in surprise. Where had that voice come from? It was him! It was Chris! She'd know that voice anywhere!

Spinning in search of the origin of his voice she spotted something moving among the sands. A black shape that walked like a human and was getting closer and closer. She didn't know if it was really him or if she had finally lost her mind, but she didn't care.

Jody set off in a mad dash pounding her feet down into the sand as she pushed her body to its limit. The black shape grew bigger as she got closer to it and the moon revealed several familiar features. The short cropped hair, the stringy body, it was him!

"Chris!" she yelled at the top of her lungs leaping into his arms as he lifted her into the air, spinning them both around until he fell back with her on top.

The only thing left on him were his torn up pants and his black gloves. Jody squeezed him as tight as she could, afraid he might disappear again.

"I…Jody…can't bre…" he struggled to say as he tried to pry himself free.

Blushing she released him and stepped back to look at him. He was dirty and covered in ash, but that was it. His wounds had healed, all of them, like they were never there.

Suddenly she was holding him tightly again, breathing him in as she clung to the boy she loved so much.

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Juniper stood and looked around worriedly. They hadn't heard from Jody in a while and that yell wasn't to comforting. Then something caught the Asian teen's eye. As the pair stepped into the light, Juniper almost had a heart attack.

"You're alive!" she yelled awakening Ashley and Ray-Ray.

She pulled her big brother into a tight hug and then stepped back and punched him in the arm.

"What was that for?" Chris demanded.

Juniper pointed her finger right in his face, "If you ever do anything like that again, I will personally beat the living hell out of you!"

They stared angrily at each other for a few tense seconds and then both burst into hysterics. Now, it was truly over…

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Two months later…

The door bell rang and the door pulled open to reveal Jody. She was wearing a red miniskirt and a black halter top with big red bows in her pigtails. She glanced seductively at her guest as he stepped up to her and planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

"Happy Birthday Beautiful," Chris said trying to be smooth.

Jody just laughed at his failed attempt to be cool. Taking him by the hand she lead him inside before turning to greet Juniper, Ashley, Ray-Ray, and Monroe.

"Hey guys, thanks for coming," she said happily as they entered her home one after the other.

"You think we'd miss this?" Ray-Ray asked pushing his way through to the back yard.

Outside they were met by Jody's relatives and cousins. Ray-Ray knew exactly what he wanted as he and Monroe made their way to the food table. Juniper and Ashley said hello to Mr. and Mrs. Irwin and then ran after Ophelia and Roger.

When Chris walked up to Jody's parents he politely shook hands with them and said his greetings. Things had been tense between them for a while, but the Irwins soon realized that he truly loved their daughter and if she felt the same, who were they to stand in the way? With that Jody dragged her boyfriend off to hang out with their friends.

Before they could get to the group they ran into someone Chris had never met before. He was a raven haired boy in a white t-shirt with a red dot in the center and a pair of jeans. Jody grabbed him by the arm explaining to Chris that he was a friend of the family and dragged both boys up to the others.

Juniper locked eyes with the new guy and was instantly entranced by his kind blue eyes. Her arm felt like jell-o as she reached to shake his hand. She felt a jolt at the warmth of his hand and nearly melted when she heard his voice.

"Hi I'm Danny, Danny Fenton."

A warm smile crossed her face. Things were starting to look up and who knew what the future held?

The End

Yes! Its finally over! My first Juniper Lee fic is finally complete after nine long months! Ah, so what did everyone think? I know its kind of sappy towards the end, but I wanted the heroes to actually win this time so…yeah.

Did the ending surprise everybody? If you can't guess there's going to be a sequel to this. It's a crossover with Danny Phantom, but that's all I can tell you. You can expect to see the first chapter after I finish my Xiaolin Showdown fic, which should only take me a few weeks. Until then, thanks to everybody who's been reading and thank you to all of you who reviewed this story. See you next time!

Love, Life, & Regret Soundtrack

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee by Ready Twilight (June's Theme)

Day of the River by Joe Hisaishi (Haku's Theme)

Pain by Jimmy Eat World (Chris' Theme)

Fuu's Theme by MINMI (Jody's Theme)

D-tecnolife by UVERworld

Sandy Planet by Tsuneo Imahori

Scattered Rain by Tsuneo Imahori

Pompeii by E.S. Posthumus

Main Theme of Superman by John Williams

I'm Not Okay by My Chemical Romance

Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day

Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold

Always Love by Nada Surf

Blow Away by Staind

Ultra by K.M.F.D.M.

I Sing the Body Electric by Me First and The Gimme Gimmes


End file.
